ill we might beat them back," one of the others said. "We can
muster about three hundred men between us, and they are not likely to
land more than that."

"I don't think that would be a good plan," Captain Vipon said. "To
begin with, we can't tell which of the three places they may choose
for landing at. We certainly cannot hurry through the woods anything
like so fast as they can row along the shore, so that would place us
at a disadvantage. In the second place, you know very well that we
can't rely upon our men defeating an equal number of these John Bulls;
and in the last place, we should not gain much if we did. We should
lose a tremendous lot of our men, and the schooner would go off and
fetch two or three more ships of war here, so that in the end they
must beat us. I think that there is no question that it will be better
for us to take our chances of escape now."

"Either the schooner will come back to-night and tow the boats of the
frigate round the other side of the island, or she will send a boat
with the news that she has found a landing-place, and then the frigate
will send all her boats. I don't think the attack will take place
to-night; but it may be made. It certainly won't if the schooner comes
round, for the wind is very light. She will not leave her anchorage
until it is quite dark; and by the time she has got round to the
frigate, and the boat's crews are ready to start, and they all get to
the back of the island, it will be morning. If they send a boat it
would reach the frigate after three hours' rowing; give them an hour
to get ready and start, and three hours to row back, so that brings it
to nearly the same thing. Beside, I don't suppose in any case they
would land before morning, for they would run the risk of losing their
way in the woods. So my proposal is that at about two o'clock in the
morning we make a start, separate as soon as we get out of the harbor,
and each shift for himself. The frigate will have more than half her
crew away, and being so short-handed will not be so smart with her
sails, and will not be able to work half her guns; so that at the
outside two out of the three of us ought to get safely off."

"But suppose that the schooner happens to be round here, and they make
up their minds to wait a day before attacking, we should have two of
them after us then; and that schooner sails like a witch."

"I have thought of that," Captain Vipon said. "My idea is to put a man
on the