danger. This was the turning-point in the battle. The savages who
landed first turned and fled towards the bush, on seeing the fall
of their chief. But not one escaped. They were all overtaken and
felled to the earth. I saw, however, that they were not all
killed. Indeed, their enemies, now that they were conquered,
seemed anxious to take them alive; and they succeeded in securing
fifteen, whom they bound hand and foot with cords, and, carrying
them up into the woods, laid them down among the bushes. Here they
left them, for what purpose I knew not, and returned to the scene
of the late battle, where the remnant of the party were bathing
their wounds.

Out of the forty blacks that composed the attacking party, only
twenty-eight remained alive, two of whom were sent into the bush to
hunt for the women and children. Of the other party, as I have
said, only ten survived, and these were lying bound and helpless on
the grass.

Jack and Peterkin and I now looked at each other, and whispered our
fears that the savages might clamber up the rocks to search for
fresh water, and so discover our place of concealment; but we were
so much interested in watching their movements that we agreed to
remain where we were; and, indeed, we could not easily have risen
without exposing ourselves to detection. One of the savages now
went up to the wood and soon returned with a bundle of fire-wood,
and we were not a little surprised to see him set fire to it by the
very same means used by Jack the time we made our first fire, -
namely, with the bow and drill. When the fire was kindled, two of
the party went again to the woods and returned with one of the
bound men. A dreadful feeling of horror crept over my heart, as