Gordon Young

“ The shooting on the deck above continued. Sound of the guns and Ward's curses came through the skylight. There were blows and falling glass as men broke the windows looking into the cabin from the quarter-deck and things were thrown through. Wild daring faces peered in, shrieking threats at Corydon, who unsteadily pointed a revolver toward them, but did not shoot for the faces would vanish—then reappear.
Mrs. Gorvhalsen stood in the door of the room where the carpenter had been working. She held her hands tightly together like one who suffers intense pain without crying out. ”

“ But Sam-O passed in a bound and leaped the ladder; Clobb turned and headed for the port ladder where already men were scrambling. The negro's mouth was fringed with foam. The rush of hot blood to his face gave the blackness a sheen and the white rows of fine teeth were visible like an animal's as it leaps to kill.
Gorvhalsen, confident, at once infuriated and cool, drew back and let the negro get clear on to the poop. Their bodies met like the shock of bulls. Sam-O slashed with the knife, then his arm was caught, his body gripped crushingly ”

“ Shouts and curses with men jostling and scrambling, were everywhere. Some were breaking into the galley. Some crouched on the ladders, others lurked under the break of the poop. A few inactively watched.
Sam-O, after lying bent and crumpled, came to his knees, stood up unsteadily, shook himself, fingered his broken arm curiously, then jabbering curses, stealthily crawled up the starboard ladder, at the top of which Clobb already crouched. Together they watched Janz, who had dropped to the deck when Gorvhalsen turned on the three men about Jeanne. ”

“ A moment later Gorvhalsen was struck in the back by the ax, and crumpled as he was trying to wheel around. Janz in excited haste had hit with the head of the ax instead of with the blade and Gorvhalsen took the blow just above the hips. Beaten down to less than half his height, helpless from the waist to his feet, he was as full of fight still as a wolf with a broken back.
Janz struck a second blow, aiming for the head—to split it. At the same time Clobb and Sam-O went on to the poop, yelling for the crew to follow. Ward shot rapidly. ”

“ When he saw the men rush toward the cabin door, he had started to run for the stairway. But Corydon shot.
Gorvhalsen had been in his stateroom; and at the first yells he went bounding out. His wife met and tried to beg him not to go.
Corydon began to follow, but Mrs. Gorvhalsen called him.
“They are killing men,” she said.
Her face was white as the lace about her throat, but she did not seem excited. Eve ran to her brother, clung to him, saying that he must not go. The clamor on deck was terrifying. Corydon had no clear idea of what he might do with his uncle's revolver ”

“ He was merely an angry, desperate, cruel man, carrying the fight to people whom he did not think could stand against the crew; the reward was to be the privilege of doing as the men pleased, as they drunkenly pleased. ”

“ It showed itself a little more readily. He bellowed fearful things, brandishing his knife; then yelling something about “white men” he killed one of the Kanakas who had started forward as though running away. ”