woods, seeing what was
taking place, rushed from their concealment in the woods by swarms, and
poured a crushing fire into the boats at pistol range. One poor fellow,
who had been left on board the boat, when he saw the enemy coming, made
a desperate attempt to spike her guns, and was cut down while so
engaged. After all the boat could not be recovered. The Krooman on
board Mr Beecroft's boat by mistake let go her anchor directly in front
of the enemy's lines, and had not an officer, in the most gallant way,
cut her chain cable with a chisel, under a fearfully hot fire, during
which he was several times hit, she also would have been destroyed.
Everybody during the action behaved admirably, and no one deserved more
praise than did the surgeons sent on the expedition, who, throughout the
day, attended on the wounded, exposed to the hottest fire. Disastrous
in one respect had indeed been the result of the expedition, for upwards
of sixty men and officers had been wounded, and thirteen men and three
midshipmen killed. When it was found that the boat could not be
recovered, a mate of one of the ships and the gunner, in the most
gallant way, pulled back to the cutter, and by throwing a rocket into
her, so well-directed that it entered her magazine, blew her up,
destroying at the same time not a few of her captors. Towards the
evening the steamer was got off, and the order was then given for the
boats to return out of gun-shot for the night. British seamen are not
apt to indulge in low spirits or to give way to melancholy, but those
engaged in the expedition might well have been excused had they done so.
Had they been successful the case would have been different, but as yet
nothing had been accomplished; still probably there was not a man who
did not feel that before the end of another day something would be done,
nor did any one dream of abandoning the enterprise. Jack and Adair
looked out anxiously for Murray.

"Can he have been hit?" said Terence. "It surely was not his boat that
was taken."

"I trust not indeed," answered Jack, anxiously. "I'll hail the boats as
they come up, to learn if anybody knows where he is."

Boat after boat was hailed, but no information could be obtained of
Murray. They became seriously anxious about him. Jack had several men
wounded in his boat, and one poor fellow lay stark and cold in the bow.
The other boats had also several wounded on board them, while the
steamer had a still