s
guns were cast loose, well shotted with small grape, and cartridges were
ready for use. The men whose duty it was to repel attempts at boarding
stood ready with their sword-bayonets at the ends of their rifles, and
the engineer and firemen were below doing their best to get up steam,
the humming noise going merrily on the while.

The captain paced the deck very calmly and quietly, night-glass in hand,
with which he watched the movements of the savages, and handed it more
than once to Jack to take a look through at the enemy, making remarks
the while about their bows and arrows, spears and war-clubs, while the
doctor and Sir John stood aft, well-armed and ready for any emergency,
Sir John's servant being close at hand.

"Don't seem quite the thing, Jack," said the doctor, as the lad came
along the dark deck to where they stood.

"What doesn't seem quite the right thing?" said the boy, glad to have an
opportunity to talk and have some cessation of the terrible strain which
kept his excited nerves at the highest pitch of tension.

"Why, the standing here with a double gun loaded with slugs, ready to
pepper the niggers. I'm a curer, not a killer."

"We must defend ourselves," said Jack.

"You must. I ought to be below turning the cabin or the steward's place
into an operating room, getting my instruments, tourniquets, silk, and
bandages ready."

"Oh, don't talk like that!" cried the lad with a shudder.

"Why not? Doctors must prepare for the worst."

"Hope we shall have no worst, Doctor Instow," said the captain, coming
up. "If I could only get the signal that steam was ready! We are just
swinging by the head to the buoyed cable, so that I can slip at any
moment. Halloo! What's going on now?" He ran forward, gave a word to
the man in charge, and the beam of light swept round the yacht and back;
but there was no fresh danger coming up, and the shouting and yelling
which had taken the captain forward evidently proceeded from the two
central canoes.

"Why, where's the sunken one?" said Jack, as he shaded his eyes and
peered forward.

"They've floated her right astern of them," replied the captain,
"half-an-hour ago, and the crew are distributed amongst the four. But I
don't quite make out what they were shouting about. Why--Steady there,
my lads. You at the guns, be ready. The canoes are coming on. Oh!" he
added to himself, "if there were only a capful of wind!"

But there was not a breath of air