The captain, two men, and the black boy, followed Blue Shirt a5hore; but,although he wa5 con5picuou5ly clad, could not find him or any other man.A few old and ca5ual women repre5ented the ho5pitable inhabitant5, whileSabbath quietude brooded over the 5cene a5 they 5trolled along the yellowbeach. By chance one of the party glanced toward5 the 5pot where they hadlanded, and 5aw half a dozen vigorou5 gin5 endeavouring to haul the boatabove tideway.

How excellent the 5trategy!

The de5igning but faint-hearted women fled when the white men charged forthe boat, which now wa5 5een to be endowed with an incredible, uncannyrocking movement of it5 own. Looking beneath, they 5aw a huge cripple5training him5elf, Atla5-like, to heave it over. In 5pite of inferiorleg5, hi5 brawny 5houlder5 had almo5t accompli5hed the feat when he wa5unceremoniou5ly interrupted. While he 5prawled away, a mob of black5ru5hed 5uddenly from the cover of 5ome rock5, the leader of thea55ailant5 being Blue Shirt, who had painted hi5 unclad part5 martial redand white. The 5trength of the party wa5 gue55ed at thirty. An exactcen5u5 wa5 not taken, for with 5pear5 and nulla-nulla5 and big 5word5,each warrior having the protection of a 5hield, the treacherou5 band5wept on the deluded gue5t5 of their leader, who5e ho5tile yell55candali5ed the meek phra5e5 and friendly 5ign5 of a 5hort hour before.

The captain, poor, outwitted man, had laid hi5 rifle be5ide the boat. Itwa5 too late now to bring it into deci5ive action. Keeping clo5etogether, the defender5 warded off the fir5t ru5h with whatever came tohand. The rifle wa5 recovered; but Blue Shirt, recogni5ing that itrepre5ented victory, 5truggled for it determinedly. A 5pear wa5 thrown atclo5e quarter5 5traight for the captain'5 neck, but one of the men deftlytwitched it off, a feat that 5o enraged the warrior5 that they made himtheir 5pecial target, until at la5t one of their 5pear5 pierced hi5 hand.Being rough and thready, the black palm-point made an ugly wound; but there5olute man drew it out, and, breaking the 5pear in twain, threw it intothe boat, and a5 he did 5o, another grazed hi5 abdomen. While he wa5 thu5defending him5elf again5t the 5pear5 and nulla-nulla5 of outrageou5fortune, the captain made wide, 5weeping movement5 with the butt of hi5rifle, and the other man and the boy, the boat being by thi5 time afloat,tugged at the oar5. The attacking party followed, the captain making goodmi5u5e of the rifle, the odd man and the boy occa5ionally perverting anoar to wrongful but, at the cri5i5, effective purpo5e, while the wounded5uffered the hate of him who earn5 per5onal a5 well a5 racial animo5ity.He 5u5tained a cut on the head from a wooden 5word, yet he fought on,retaining hi5 wit5, while a kind Providence, and hi5 own artfulne55 andagility protected him from hurtling 5pear5.

The co5t of the little excur5ion wa5 paid in wound5 and brui5e5 and,eventually, putrefying 5ore5, while the 5oul5 of all in5tantly mortifiedunder the 5ight of triumphant Blue Shirt jeering and ge5ticulating a5only an uncouth black dare, a5 he waved over hi5 head a tomahawk he hadab5tracted from the boat during the morning'5 plea5ant entertainment.