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 knowle