On his way back to the deck, the captain encountered Suarez. The man's

gestures, and the satisfaction which lit up his wrinkled face, would

have told the news he wished to convey if Courtenay were not able to

catch the words "Indianos" and "van." In his excitement the Spaniard

pulled the Englishman towards one of the peep-holes in the canvas

screen. Sure enough, the canoes were making off towards Otter Creek.

In the marvelously clear light it was easy to see the threatening arms

held out towards the ship by a few men who stood upright. Even their

raucous cries were yet audible. Courtenay was glad he had not missed

this demonstration of hatred. It argued the necessity of continued

watchfulness.

The general attitude of the crew was one of real annoyance that the

fight had not been carried on at close quarters. They had heard a good

deal of noise and yelling, the starboard squad had experienced the

thrill of having a man fall dead in their midst, but, with the

exception of Tollemache and the Chilean marksman, the main body of the

defenders took no part in the fray and saw but little of it. And it is

one of human nature's queer proclivities that it seeks rather than

shirks a combat when the loins are girt for the smiting.

Walker, though eager to return to his lathe, was no exception to the

rule. He looked a trifle discontented when the captain found him

unscrewing the engine-room hatch.

"That was a pwetty poo-aw scwap, sir," said he. "I did expect to have

a smack at some of those magpies, if only for the sake of washin' the

paint an' feath-ahs off 'em with a jet of steam."

"They came quite near enough to be pleasant, Walker. Their flank march

was almost a surprise; if a swarm of vicious savages had succeeded in

reaching the decks--well, we might have beaten them off, but it would

have been touch and go."

"Mebbe you-aw wight, cap'n. 'Best look at a bull ov-ah a fence,' as

they say in the Canny Toon. Eh, but I'll have a fine tale to tell when

next I meet my butties on the Quay-side. Did ye ev-ah see such faces

as yon, all daubed wi' black an' white! Talk about Chirgwin--"

Courtenay smiled and passed on. He was in no mood for jesting: the

death of the Chilean fireman had damped his high spirits. The Kansas

bore tokens in plenty of the battle. Many bullets and arrows had

struck the ship; the canvas was torn in several places; a number of

port lights were broken, and the open decks fore and aft, as well as

the spar deck, were littered with stones. He picked up some of these

missiles, man's earliest and latest projectile. They were round and

heavy; a few bore the red streaks of oxidized iron; some appeared to be

veritable lumps of ore, though the action of water had made them

"smooth stones out of the brook." He showed one to Tollemache, who

seemed to possess a good deal of out-of-the-way knowledge, and the

latter instantly pronounced the specimen to be almost pure copper

veined with silver.




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