ds not
have been killed, they might have been carried prisoners to the village
he had seen from the height. He accordingly directed his march towards
it, and as the country was pretty open in that direction, the party made
good progress.

The huts were reached; they were of considerable size, raised above the
ground on piles, and were constructed chiefly of bamboos and thatched
with palm leaves. The first they entered was deserted. They went on
from house to house. Not a human being was to be found, even the old
people and children had been removed. As the only means of punishing
the people for the uninvited attack they had made on the boats' crews,
Jack ordered the whole village to be given to the flames. By igniting a
few handfuls of dried leaves which were thrown into the houses, they
quickly blazed up from one end to the other. They were left burning so
furiously that even should the inhabitants return, they could not
possibly extinguish the fire.

Even this necessary act did not induce the enemy to come from their
hiding-places, nor did they appear even in the distance as the party
marched back to the boats. It was a bitter disappointment not to have
recovered the midshipmen and their companions, while, from not having
got hold of any of the natives, it had been impossible to ascertain
their fate.

Night was approaching. Jack felt it his duty to return to the ship, but
he resolved on leaving one of the boats under Mr Hanson, the third
lieutenant, who volunteered to remain. He was to keep close in shore,
prepared to shove off at any moment, should he be attacked by a superior
force of the enemy.

Much regret was expressed when the captain returned on board, that Tom
and his companions had not been recovered. The ship remained hove to
all night, and many hoped and believed that the boat would return with
the missing ones in the morning.

When the morning came, however, no boat appeared. Jack accordingly
pulled in with two other boats, intending to relieve Lieutenant Hanson.
The latter was seen coming out to meet them. He had remained at his
post, he said, all night, and although he was not attacked, he heard the
natives shouting and occasionally firing off muskets, so that even had
the midshipmen attempted to do so, they could not have succeeded in
making their way to the beach without fighting.

Jack, unwilling to give up all hope of getting Tom back, again landed
with his whole force and marche