Part 107 (1/2)
”Ray--ray--hooray!” came loudly.
”What's that?” cried the lieutenant excitedly. ”Quick, lad! My sword.
A fresh attack.”
”No, sir,” cried Murray, who had run to the window as the cheering was responded to loudly. ”It's Mr Munday with over a dozen men coming up at the double. Do you hear, sir?--'_Seafowls_ ahoy!'”
”Ah!” sighed the lieutenant, sinking back upon the now stained pillow which had been taken from one of the planter's beds.
”Mr Murray, that you?” came from the front.
”Yes, sir,” cried Murray, who was looking from the window.
”Well, I shouldn't have known you. You're as black as a sweep.”
”Yes, sir,” said the middy, clapping his hand to his face.
”Seen anything of Mr Anderson?”
”Yes, he's lying up here, wounded.”
”What! Not badly?”
”Got a nasty wound, sir, but it will soon be better,” replied the middy, glancing back at the half-fainting officer.
”Come up, Munday,” cried the latter; and in a few minutes the second lieutenant had forced his way over the barricaded entrance and reached the rooms that now formed the temporary infirmary.
”Very, very glad to have found you at last,” said Mr Munday, shaking hands warmly. ”My word, sir, you have had a tremendous fight here!”
”You can report to the captain that I have done my best, Munday, and our lads have fought like heroes.”
”That's good, sir. I'm sure they have. I wish, though, we had been here.”
”And now you will either get us aboard or send for Mr Reston.”
”I'm sorry to say that I can't do either,” said the second lieutenant.
”What!” cried the chief officer.
”It has been like this; the captain sent me ash.o.r.e with a boat's crew to find you and the rest, and as soon as we were out of sight he was attacked by a couple of schooners.”
”How did you know that?” asked Murray, who had laid his hand upon the chief officer's lips to keep him from speaking.
”From the two boat-keepers; and one of these schooners our lads report as being commanded by that scoundrel who tricked us with his lugger. He was the real owner of the schooner that escaped.”
”Ah! Go on,” said Mr Anderson faintly. ”Tell Murray, and let me lie and listen.”
”Well, then,” continued the officer, ”these two schooners attacked the skipper just when he was shorthanded, and before I could get back to my cutter they had been there, driven the two boat-keepers ash.o.r.e, and scuttled her. Of course my two men could do nothing but make for me.
So there I was ash.o.r.e, listening to the firing, while the skipper had to keep on a running fight, and that's been going on ever since, for they've been a bit too many for the _Seafowl_, it seems to me.”