"Let"s get breath first," said my father. "Sit down, my lads, anywhere.
How many are we? Only six all told? Who"s hurt?"
"Oh, I"m all right, captain," said the foreman; "only a bit of a cut."
"Only a bit of a cut!" said my father. "Here, hold your arm." My father drew out a bandage from his pocket, and tied up the foreman"s arm, and he had no sooner done this than another man offered himself to be bandaged.
Just then a couple of shots were fired in our direction, and we heard the bullets strike the rocks not far away; but while our enemies were below, and in the full glare of the burning cottages, we were above them, and in the darkness of the shadows cast by the rocks.
So the shots were allowed to go unheeded, while the bandaging went on, every one having some injury which was borne without a murmur.
"Are you hurt, Sep?" said my father then, anxiously, after he had attended to his men.
"I don"t think I"m cut anywhere," I said; "but my left arm hurts a good deal, and I can"t breathe as I should like to."
"Breathe?" he said eagerly.
"Yes; it hurts my side here and catches."
"Humph!" he said. "Can you tie this round my shoulder?"
"Why, father," I said, "are you wounded too?"
"A scratch, my boy; but it bleeds a good deal."
He tore open his coat and tried to take it off, but could not, and we had to help him, and then roughly bandage his shoulder, where he had received a horrible cut.
I trembled as I helped, and forgot my own pains.
He noticed my trembling and laughed.
"Bah, Sep!" he said; "this is nothing. I"m afraid some of our poor fellows there are worse. Ah, who"s that? Be ready, men; we must retreat, we are not in fighting trim."
For we could see a dark figure coming up after us, and it seemed to be an enemy; but directly after half a volley was fired at the figure, and we saw it drop and roll over.
"Down!" said my father with a groan. "Oh, if we were only fresh and strong! But they are six to one, my lads, and it would be madness."
"Look, father!" I cried pointing; "they are going back."
That was plain enough, and that they were going rapidly in answer to shouts of recall. So, encouraged by this, we were about to run down and help the man who had been shot, when by the glow of the fire we saw him rise up on his knees, and directly after there were a couple of flashes and reports, as he fired his pistols after the retreating foe, and then began to crawl up towards where we were.
"Why, it"s Bigley, father," I said excitedly. "Ahoy!"
"Ahoy!" came back; and I saw my school-fellow get up and begin limping towards us as fast as he could come.
I ran to meet him, but stopped before I had gone many yards, for the painful sensation in my side checked me, and I was glad to hold my hand pressed upon the place, and wait till he came up.
"Oh, I am glad!" he cried, catching my hand. "I thought--no, I won"t say what I thought."
"But you are hurt," I said. "Is it your leg?"
"Yes, I feel just as if I was a gull, Sep, and someone had shot me."
"And you are shot?"
"Yes, but only in the leg. Is the captain up there?"
"Yes," I said, "and three or four of the men. I say, Big, what a terrible night!"
"Yes," he replied, in a curious tone of voice; "but, I"m glad it"s the French, and that no one else has done it."
My father had come down to where we were seated, and made us follow him to the shelter of the rocks.
"They may catch sight of you, my lads," he said, "and turn you into marks."
"Are you going to stop them now, captain?" said Bigley, following.
"What are you going to do?"
"I"m ready to do anything, my lad," said my father sadly; "but what can half a dozen injured men, whose wounds are getting stiff, do against half a hundred sound?"
Bigley sighed.
"Couldn"t we sit up here in the rocks and pick them all off with the carbines, sir?" he said suddenly.
"Yes, my lad, perhaps we could shoot down a few if we had the carbines, which we have not. No: we can do nothing but sit down and wait till we get well, comforting ourselves with the thought that we have done our best."
We were watching the French sailors now, not a man showing the slightest inclination to retreat farther, but standing like beaten dogs growling and ready to rush at their a.s.sailants if they could get the chance.
Swords had been sheathed, but only while pistols were recharged; and then, as soon as these weapons were placed ready in belts, the cutla.s.ses were drawn again; and just as they had obeyed the order to retreat, the men would have followed my father back, wounded as they were, to another attack.
Down below the Frenchmen were as busy as bees. We could hear the crackle and snap of wood as they seemed to be tearing it out of the counting-house; and then it was evident what they had been doing, for a torch danced here and there, and stopped in one place and seemed to double in size, to quadruple, and at last there was a leaping flame running up and a pile of wood began to blaze.
"There go years of labour!" said my father, speaking unconsciously so that the men could hear. "One night to ruin everything!"
"Nay, captain, such of us as is left "ll soon build un up again," said the foreman. "Women and children"s safe, and there"s stuff enough in the hillside to pay for all they"ve done."
"Ah! So there is, my brave fellow," said my father warmly. "You are teaching me philosophy."
"Am I, captain?" said the man innocently. "Think they"ll find the silver?"
"I"m watching to see," said my father; "I don"t know yet. Five minutes will show. I fear they know where to look."
Bigley was leaning on my shoulder at this time, and he gave me quite a pinch as his hand closed, but he did not speak; and there was no need, for I understood his thoughts, poor fellow! And what he must be feeling.
As the fires at the cottages were beginning to sink, the one the Frenchmen had lit by the counting-house blazed up more brightly. They kept feeding it with furniture, joists, and broken planks, about a dozen men running to and fro tearing out the broken wood-work and clearing the interior till we could see that everything had been swept away; and then there was a buzz of excitement by the ruined building while the hammer and clangour of crowbars could be heard, followed by the tearing up of more boards; and I knew as well as if I could see that the trap-door leading to the cellar was being demolished.
"They know where the silver be, captain," said our foreman; and once more Bigley started and I felt him spasmodically grip my shoulder.
"Yes," said my father between his teeth; "they know where the silver is.
A planned thing, my man--a planned thing."