He moved aft with his eyes wide open; but he had not
gone ten feet before a man dropped down upon him from the top of the
deck-load with so much force as to carry him down to the planks.
His assailant put his arms around him and hugged him like a bear, so
that he could neither use his cutlass nor his revolvers. At the same
moment another man dropped down on Landers in like manner. It was
impossible to resist an attack made from overhead, where it was least
expected, and when they were taken by surprise. Christy was a prisoner,
and his hands were bound behind him.
At this moment Captain Stopfoot presented himself before the
prize-master, his face covered with smiles, and nervous from the excess
of his joy at the recapture of the Reindeer. Christy could not see what
had become of the rest of his men. He knew that three of them had been
secured, but he did not know what had become of the other six, and he
had some hope that they had escaped their assailants, and were in
condition to render him needed assistance, for it seemed impossible that
all of them could have been overcome.
In spite of his chagrin and mortification, Christy could not help seeing
that the affair on the part of Captain Stopfoot had been well managed,
and that the author of the plot was smart enough to be a Yankee, whether
he was one or not.
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