A COLLOQUY IN THE DARK. 821

that he could hardly have patience to let him come so near as to
be sure of him; for they only heard his tongue before. But when
they came nearer, the captain and Friday starting up on their feet,
let fly at them.

The boatswain was killed upon the spot, the next man was shot
into the body, and fell just by him, though he did not die till an
hour or two after; and the third ran for it.

At the noise of the fire I immediately advanced with my whole
army, which was now. eight men, namely, myself generaliss:mo,
Friday my lieutenant-general, the captain and his two men, and
the three prisoners of war, whom we had trusted with arms.

We came upon them indeed in the dark, so that they could not
see our number; and I made the man we had left in the boat, who
was now one of us, call to them by name, to try if I could bring
them toa parley, and so might perhaps reduce them to terms;
which fell out just as we desired. For indeed it was easy to think,
as their condition then was, they would be very willing to capitu-
late. So he calls out as loud as he could to one of them, “Tom
Smith, Tom Smith.” Tom Smith answered immediately, “‘ Who’s
that, Robinson?” for it seems he knew his voice. The other an-
swered, “ Ay, ay; for God’s sake, Tom Smith, throw down your
arms and yield, or you are all dead men this moment.”

“Who must we yield to? where are they?” says Smith again.
“ Here they are,” says he; “here’s our captain, and fifty men with
him, have been hunting you this two hours; the boatswain is
killed, Will Frye is wounded, and I am a prisoner; and if you do
not yield, you are all lost.”

“ Will they give us quarter, then,” says Tom Smith, “and we
will yield?” “I'll go and ask, if you promise to yield,” says
Robinson. So he asked the captain, and the captain then calls
himself out, “ You, Smith, you know my voice, if you lay down
your arms immediately and submit, you shall have your lives—all
but Will Atkins.”

Upon this Will Atkins cried out, “ For God’s sake, captain, give
me quarter; what have I done? They have been all as bad as I;”
—which, by the way, was not true neither; for it seems this Will
Atkins was the first man that laid hold of the captain when they