Beadle's Dime Novels No. 87: On the Deep — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

24 ON THE DEEP. encouraged his men with PODRE of a speedy lesmination of the chase. * Pull ahead, lads—pull wie !. A few more iiaiolaas and the criminality will be in our possession !” The men strained. every. muscle—the boat, flew onward with arrowy speed; it Was soon within a few feet of the canoe. The mate now ordered his men to. jump up and stand by, to seize the Malay. Placing their. oars apeak, they sprang from their thwarts to obey; but before they could turn, the fugitive, uttering a peculiar cry, directed his canoe to one side, and the boat shot past it. Directly ahead of him, Block then heard the heavy splash- ing of oars, and made out the scarcely, sailanaen outlines ae human figures. A clear musical yoice sreeted his ears the next moment. “ Boat, ahoy ! if you try to escape us it will be the worse for you He remained; for a few seconds, atlas with astonish- ment: the men stood motionless, waiting for orders. . “ Ay, ay !” cried the mate, at last, as he caught sight of nearly twenty forms seated in a longboat, “ blast me, if this ain’t a wonderful dispensary of Providence, the meeting with them ‘villains in this° unexcepted manner, Down, men il down to your oars, and pull like thunderbolts !” The crew needed. no second bidding. | They seized their oars—the mate whirled the boat’s head toward the bark—and away-they went. .Turning his head, Block saw the: canoe moving toward the other boat... A moment. later, the ‘crash- ing of small arms was heard, and a shower of leaden missiles flew about the heads of himself iand his crew.) ., “Stretch to your oars, men! Stretch for- your lives! Another volley, and some of you may be sent to the eyerlast- ing ‘bosom of destruction!’ Spring my blades! blast you, spring with a will!” A. few minutes afterward, he looked behinil him again, when, to his surprise, he could see nothing of his pursuers, though the dip of their oats was audible off his quarter. | Be- lieving that they had given up the chase, he ordered his mén to “slacken” their exertions, and pull a long easy stroke. commicbooks.com