was all over. The last of our foes was down--as well as a few
more men on our own side--and we who remained unhurt stood gasping for
breath, and mopping our perspiring brows as we glared hungrily about us
for more foes to conquer. But there were none; and presently pulling
ourselves together, we gathered up our own wounded and carried them to
such shade as could be found, where the surgeon's mate, who formed one
of our company, at once got to work upon them, attending to their hurts.
Meanwhile the ensign was hoisted as a signal to the felucca to return
to the harbour; and then such of us as could be spared went out to
disarm the wounded pirates and afterwards afford them such relief as lay
in our power, while others again gleaned the weapons and ammunition of
the fallen, recognising that they might possibly be useful in our fight
with the crew of the _Tiburon_ later on.

Then, having made all arrangements for the conduct of the work on the
islet during the next few hours, I took the two largest boats that had
survived the passage across the waters of the Cove, and with a dozen
men, armed to the teeth, under the leadership of myself and the
boatswain, pulled away to the settlement, to see how matters stood in
that direction. As I had anticipated, there was not a man left in the
place--not even a boy above fourteen years of age; every male above that
age had been detailed to take part in the attempt to capture the islet,
which Fernandez had fully recognised to be the key of the entire
position. And now, of the hundred and fifty who had taken part in the
disastrous attempt, every one was either slain, or lay wounded in our
hands.

While I was taking stock generally of the situation, so to speak, and
making my further plans, the boatswain, assisted by the seamen whom we
had brought ashore with us, made a careful and systematic search of
every building in the place, removing every weapon, everything that
could be used as such, and all ammunition, and transferring them to the
two boats prior to our return to the islet. There were not many
weapons, and not a very great quantity of ammunition; but there was more
than we could conveniently stow in the boats. We, therefore, took a
portion of it out to about the middle of the bay and there threw it
overboard, returning for the remainder and conveying it to the islet.
The most important result of our visit to the shore, however, consisted
in the information, freely given me