Quickly as Elsie had reached the deck, the warlike sounds which
disturbed her rest had ceased. Save for the footsteps of men whom she
could not see, the prevalent noises were caused only by wind and sleet.
While she was hurrying forward as rapidly as the darkness permitted,
the lights were switched on with a suddenness that made her gasp. The
dog began to bark again, but it was easy to distinguish his sharp yelps
of excitement and defiance from the earlier notes of alarmed suspicion.
In fact, Joey himself was the first to discover the stealthy approach
of the Indians. Courtenay and Tollemache, who took the middle watch,
from midnight to 4 A.M., had failed to note the presence of several
canoes on the ink-black surface of the bay until the dog warned them by
growling, and ruffling the bristles on his back. The night was pitch
dark; the rising moon was not only hidden by the hills of the island,
but frequent storms of rain and hail rendered it impossible while they
raged to see or hear beyond the distance of a few feet. In all
probability, as the canoes bore down from windward, Joey had scented
them.
He also gave the highly important information as to the quarter
from which attack might be expected. Three men, at least, had gained
the deck, but the prompt use of a revolver had caused them to retreat
as silently and speedily as they had appeared. That was all. There
was no actual fight. The phantoms vanished as silently as they came.
The only external lights on the ship were the masthead and sidelights,
hoisted by Courtenay to reveal the steamer's whereabouts in case one of
the boats chanced to be driven into the bay during the dark hours.
There was an electric lamp turned on in the donkey-engine room, and
another in the main saloon, but means were taken to exclude them from
showing without; if the Indians meant to be actively hostile, lights on
board would be more helpful to the assailants than to the assailed.
When the captain and Tollemache followed Joey's lead, they discerned
three demoniac figures, vaguely outlined by the ruddy glare of the port
light, in the very act of climbing the rails. They fired instantly,
and the naked forms vanished; both men thought they heard the splashing
caused by the leaping or falling of the Indians into the sea. By the
same subdued radiance Courtenay made out the top of a pole or mast
sticking up close to the ship's side. He leaned over, fired a couple
of shots downwards at random, seized the pole, and lashed it to a
stanchion with a loose rope end, a remnant of one of the awnings. A
small craft, even an Indian canoe, would be most useful, and its
capture might tend to scare the attackers.