a
terrific yell and came paddling toward us at top speed.

"Out with your cutlasses, men!" I exclaimed; "we shall have to fight
our way back this time, I believe. Now each man seize as much as he can
carry in one hand, and keep close together. Now are you all ready?
Then march. Ah! capital!" as the lads in the battery bowled over three
or four blacks who had landed and were rushing down upon us. "Now _run
for it_!"

Away we went, helter-skelter, and once more got safely within the
compass of our sheltering walls, though not until I--who, of course, had
to be last in seeking cover--had been overtaken and surrounded by some
half-a-dozen furious blacks, two of whom I succeeded in disabling with
my sword, whilst the remaining four were promptly placed _hors-de-
combat_ by the muskets of those who were covering our retreat.

Taking fresh courage, perhaps, at our limited number, and possibly also
feeling more at home in a fight on dry land than when in their canoes,
the natives now closed in upon us on all sides, effecting a landing on
the island and pressing forward, with loud cries and much brandishing of
spears, to attack the battery. This battery, it may be well to explain,
was a small equilateral triangular affair built of sods, and measuring
about thirty-five feet on each of its sides. It mounted six nine-
pounder brass guns, two to each side; and its walls rose to a height of
about seven feet above the ground outside, a ledge about three feet wide
on the inside being raised some three feet all round the interior of the
walls, thus enabling those on the inside to fire over the low parapet.
The guns were mounted on ordinary ship carriages and were unprovided
with tackles, being placed upon wooden platforms slightly sloping
forward, so that when loaded they could be easily run out by hand, the
recoil of the discharge sending them back up the slight slope into
loading position. The three angles of the battery were, as has already
been intimated, occupied by the magazines.

The natives advanced boldly to the attack, and for the moment I must
confess that I felt almost dismayed as I looked around me and got a
clear idea of their overwhelming numbers. However, there was no
escape--we were completely hemmed in on every side; and if we were to
die I thought we might as well die fighting; so, waiting until they were
within a few yards only of the walls, I gave the order to fire, and the
report of the six nine-pounde