"Gently, lads, gently!" replied Mr. McKay. "You must remember that, although the island can be made self-supporting--for there"s tons of copra to be had, and I have no doubt that the bed of the lagoon is covered with pearl oysters--the idea of living here is not altogether favourable. It wouldn"t be good for us to have only each other"s company for long. I"ll not deny that this open-air, free-and-easy life is splendid from a physical point of view, but isolation tends to destroy one"s mental powers."
"Then you advise me to get away from the island as soon as I can, and never return to it?"
"Not at all. You misunderstood me, Ellerton. The island is as much yours as it is mine, or Terence"s. What I meant to imply was that once we can open up communication with the regular ports of call, so that we can leave whenever we wish to, the better it will be for all of us.
But once abandon the island it becomes the property of the next comer.
To put the matter briefly, I intend to sit tight here; but should any of you go away for, say, even three or four years, you will be welcome to return and secure your part of the commonwealth--such as it is."
Finally it was decided that Blight should be kept on the island for the present, and that Ellerton and Andy should attempt to navigate the yawl to the Society Islands, communicate with their friends at home, and also write to the Agent at Fiji requesting that a British gunboat be dispatched to ratify the annexation of McKay"s Island.
They could then return and await events.
A week or more pa.s.sed. Preparations for the voyage were pushed forward, and at length everything was ready for the lads" adventurous expedition.
"Now, lads, turn in early, for you may not get a good night"s rest for some days," observed Mr. McKay, on the evening prior to the day fixed for their departure.
The advice was acted upon, but Ellerton could not sleep. The night was sultry, not a breath of wind rustled the leaves of the palm-trees.
Mosquitoes buzzed in and out of the room, while without the glow of the fire-flies betokened a spell of fine weather.
Uneasily the lad tossed from side to side on his bed. A stray mosquito managed to pa.s.s the meshes of the mosquito-net, and settled down to business, his object of attack being the lad"s nose.
Ellerton knew that rest could only be obtained by killing the insect, so sitting up he began his plan of campaign.
Suddenly his ear caught the sound of the long-drawn shriek of a concertina, followed by a chorus of shouts and exclamations of surprise.
In an instant he was out of bed.
"Wake up! Wake up!" he shouted, shaking the heavy sleepers with unsparing hand. "The savages are upon us!"
CHAPTER XVIII
A SURPRISE FOR THE INVADERS
Hastily throwing on portions of their clothing and seizing their rifles and revolvers, which, by a general custom, were in variably kept loaded, the four white men prepared to dash out of the house.
"Don"t show a light on any account," cautioned Mr. McKay. "We must let the storehouses go and hold this terrace."
It was a complete surprise. The natives, who had wrested Ahii from its former owners, had followed up their success in driving off the invaders by paying a return visit to Ni Atong. The population of that island had either been killed or reserved for a more lingering death, and from one of the latter their captors learnt of the existence of McKay"s Island and its wealth of metal goods so prized by the South Sea Islanders.
Accordingly ten large canoes set out on an expedition to raid the white men"s dwelling.
Arriving within sight of the peak of the island, they kept in the offing till night, then with torches blazing aloft they found the pa.s.sage into the lagoon, and, paddling rapidly, landed on the beach below the settlement.
Thereupon three hundred powerful savages, armed with club, bow, spear, and knife, and bearing torches, began the ascent of the path that led to the three terraces.
The lower storehouse was their first discovery. Quickly finding that no white men were within, the host of warriors resumed their advance.
Some, however, tempted by the various articles stored in the building, began to help themselves.
Then it was that a savage laid hold of the concertina that Ellerton had brought from the wreck and had hitherto been left neglected in the store. The native was examining his prize in the torchlight, when, happening to come into collision with another plunderer, the concertina gave out a startling screech as if to atone for its days of idleness.
Dropping the musical instrument of torture like a live coal, the savage rushed from the building, his yells of terror being taken up by his companions. This diversion was the cause of alarming Ellerton, and consequently saving the inhabitants of McKay"s Island from a ma.s.sacre.
"Aim low, lads!" shouted Mr. McKay. "Let "em have it!"
The conflict was short and sharp. Although many of the attackers got within throwing distance, not a single native succeeded in gaining the top of the steep and narrow path.
They fled hurriedly to the sh.o.r.e, where they rallied to await the dawn.
"Anyone hurt?" inquired Mr. McKay.
There was a general reply in the negative, though in the heat of the firing there had been several narrow escapes, for the ground was bristling with spears and littered with stones, which, had they struck anyone, would have caused serious if not fatal wounds.
In the excitement Ellerton had forgotten his crippled arm, and had used a rifle equally as well as his comrades; but the exertion had caused the blood to flow afresh.
"Rotten luck, I call it," he grumbled as Andy readjusted the bandage.
"You must load at least a dozen revolvers for me. Thank goodness it"s my left arm."
"It"s a fair surprise," remarked Mr. McKay. "We"ve our work cut out to drive them off. Won"t they play old Harry with the storehouse--and the yawl."
"Oh!" exclaimed Andy in dismay, at the thought of his particular treasure being in the hands of the savages. "Whatever can be done to save it?"
"Nothing, I"m afraid," replied his father. "Perhaps if the mischief is not already done and the vessel holed, we can keep them off with a long range fire, though I can hold out no strong hopes in that direction.
The plain truth is, that we are in a tight corner, and we must make the best of it."
For some minutes the defenders kept silence, listening to the subdued sounds of their foes.
"Look here," said Mr. McKay, "it"s no use sitting here and doing nothing. Terence, will you go back to the house and bring three or four spades? We"ll dig a shelter trench along the edge of the cliff so as to be able to command the path without unduly exposing ourselves to the rascals. Andy, you had better go with him and bring some more rifles and some ammunition."
Upon the lads" return, the little band set to work to throw up their defences, and barely had the work been completed ere the day broke.
"There are not so many of them after all," remarked Andy, when the full strength of the attacking party was revealed. "We had greater odds at Ahii."
"And a worse position," added his father. "We can hold out here, I fancy, but we cannot prevent the damage to our stores and gear. See, they"ve begun again."
Numbers of the savages were engaged in looting the store, while others, to Andy"s great disgust especially, had paddled off to where the yawl lay at her moorings.
"Now," exclaimed Andy, setting the backsight of his rifle. "Eight hundred yards!"
"That"s about the range," a.s.sented his father, and four rifles opened fire upon the daring natives, Ellerton contriving to rest the barrel of his weapon upon the ridge of the earthwork, so as to avoid using his damaged arm.
The bullets all fell close to the yawl, several of the natives being hit; but possibly in their hour of triumph the savages scorned the white men"s weapons. Casting off the moorings, they leisurely towed the yawl out towards the reef and plundered her.
Great was the defenders" rage to see the blacks hacking at the rigging, sails, and cordage, throwing the contents of the cabin-lockers into the bottom of their canoe, and wrenching the metal cleats, hinges, and shroud-plates from her hull. This done, a powerful savage stove a hole in the craft, and slowly sinking by the stern, she at length plunged to the bottom of the lagoon.
"It"s hard lines, Andy," exclaimed his father as he paused to recharge his magazine. "But I"m afraid we shall have to make greater sacrifices before this affair is over."
"We seem to have horrible bad luck," replied Andy savagely. "First at Ahii, and now here."