detailed as succinctly as possible all that had transpired since our
departure from the ship, and wound up by a suggestion that if they had
any spare rations they would be most acceptable.

"Rations!" exclaimed Armitage; "to be sure we have, my boy; but let us
adjourn to this island of yours, where we can get them properly cooked.
I feel curious to see the spot which you held so pluckily for so long a
time. But, by the by, where is the French boat all this time?"

"The French boat? Has she not turned up at the creek?" I exclaimed in
surprise. "We felt certain of her escape, and indeed depended upon the
information she would convey of our predicament for the despatch of
assistance."

"She had not put in an appearance up to the time of our starting at noon
yesterday, nor have we seen any sign of her during our passage up the
stream," was the reply. "You were due to return, you know, the evening
before last, and when yesterday morning came, without your appearance,
Captain Vernon became uneasy. He allowed you until noon, however; but
when noon passed, leaving you still _non est_, he came to the conclusion
that something was amiss, and despatched us in quest of you at once. So
this is the scene of the struggle, eh?" as the boats grounded on the
beach of the island. "A pretty scene of ruin it is."

And so it was. The battery had been completely obliterated by the
explosion, nothing remaining to mark its site but the scattered
fragments of the sod walls and the dismounted guns; the charred remains
of the barrack, a short distance away, aiding to complete the picture of
destruction. An immense number of native spears were lying scattered
about all over the ground, and these were promptly collected by the
seamen as souvenirs of the struggle.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

AN AWFUL CATASTROPHE.

Meanwhile the Spaniards were still lying _perdu_ on board the hulk as
they had remained from the moment of our driving them out the battery.
During the discussion of our much-needed meal the question of what steps
we should take with regard to them had been canvassed; and, our
appetites at length satisfied, Armitage and I walked across the island
to make a closer inspection of the position of the craft.

I had wondered greatly, at odd times during our protracted struggle with
the savages, how the Spaniards had managed to transfer so rapidly from
the barrack to the hulk the large number of slaves which the former must
have c