emain inexplicable;
some sharp eye soon detected the entrance of the creek and suspected
that we were concealed therein, for, after a few minutes spent in
animated discussion by the occupants, the pursuing canoes were heard
cautiously approaching. It was evident that their knowledge of the
creek was not nearly so complete as that of our own steersman, for
whereas we had contrived, despite the pitchy darkness, to navigate the
crooked channel without running foul of anything, we could hear the
continual swishing of foliage and the bumping of the canoes as they
encountered the overhanging branches or collided with the mangrove roots
on one side or the other. We were thus able to follow the progress of
their approach with the utmost precision, and the moment that the
leading canoe--a craft manned by some twenty most villainous-looking
savages--emerged from the darkness into the patch of brilliant
moonlight, she was greeted with a murderous discharge of arrows at short
range which put the greater part of her crew _hors de combat_. She was
closely followed by another canoe of about the same size, the occupants
of which were treated to a similarly warm reception. A warning shout
from one of the survivors of this second discharge was raised in time to
save those behind from pushing forward to meet a similar fate, and now
the quick twanging of bowstrings and loud shouts from those ashore and
afloat told that a fierce battle was raging. But our people, from the
advantage of their position, had very much the best of it, and at length
the pursuers were beaten off and compelled to retreat precipitately,
with the loss of nearly two-thirds of their number and two canoes,
which, with their wounded occupants, were left in our hands, while our
party escaped absolutely unscathed. The wounded of the enemy, numbering
eleven, would have met with but short shrift at the hands of their
captors, but for the interposition of the man whom I have termed our
timoneer, who seemed to be a petty chief. This individual carefully
examined his prisoners and found that three of them were so severely
wounded as to afford little hope of their recovery; these three he
therefore despatched with the most callous sang-froid by driving his
broad-bladed spear into their throats, after which they were flung over
the side; the remaining eight, who appeared to be only temporarily
disabled, were trussed up, hand and foot, with thin, tough, pliant
creeper, cut f