about ten to one
Who 'd ha ' thought of that ? '' `` You be ready , Dick ; I depend upon you , mind , '' cried the middy ; and he ran back to his post . The prahus were coming steadily on , up and down stream , and it could be seen from the steamer 's deck that they were full of men , and bristling with spears , while any doubt as to the unfriendliness of their intentions was soon dispelled by the noise of beating gongs on board each vessel , the object being apparently to encourage each other and to excite alarm in the breasts of their foes , a result which in this case the noise decidedly failed in obtaining . The men kept glancing anxiously at their commander , who seemed to be letting the prahus approach very closely , which appeared to be a bad policy , seeing that the Malays were about ten to one , and their object would doubtless be to board the steamer and engage in a hand-to-hand fight ; but Lieutenant Johnson had made his plans , and was abiding his time . He himself carefully pointed the guns , depressing them somewhat , so that the shot should strike low ; and then leaving the task in the hands of the captain of each piece , he waited the result . The prahus were now within a couple of hundred yards of the steamer , and had begun firing iron shot from their little brass lelahs , when the first gun spoke out . There was a round puff of smoke and a deafening roar , and the shot struck the nearest right in the stem , tearing a great hole in her bows , and passing through her with such deadly effect that the prahu immediately began to sink , and her crew leaped overboard in confusion and began to swim ashore .