"Cease firing, lads," I cried; "the schooner has struck.  Now, while the guns' crews remain here, ready to open fire again, if need be, the rest of us will go aboard and take possession."  And, with a wild cheer, some thirty of us leaped the ruins of our parapet and dashed headlong down the steep slope to the little strip of beach where half-a-dozen boats were drawn partly up out of the water.