Twenty-one

THE ATTACK

As soon as Silver disappeared, the captain, who had been closely watching him, turned towards the inside of the house, and found not a man of us at his place but Gray. It was the first time we had ever seen him angry.

"To your places!" he roared. And then, as we all crept back to our places, "Gray," he said, "I'll put a note to your name; you've stood by your duty like a seaman. Mr. Trelawney, I'm surprised at you, sir. Doctor, I thought you had served as a soldier!"

The doctor's "watch" were all back at their places; the rest were busy loading the guns, and everyone with a red face, you may be certain.

The captain looked on for a while in silence. Then he spoke.

"My lads," said he, "I've given Silver more than he expected. I made it red-hot on purpose; and before the hour's out, as he said, we shall be attacked. They have greater numbers, but we fight in shelter. I've no doubt that we can beat them, if you choose."

Then he went round the place, and saw, as he said, that all was in order.

The guns, powder and shot were all laid ready. The fire was put out lest the smoke might get in our eyes. I was ordered to get some breakfast quickly; and a small glass of rum was served out to all.

While this was going on, the captain completed his plan for defending the place.

"Doctor, you will take the door," he ordered. "Don't show yourself too much; keep within and fire through the doorway. Hunter, take the east side of the stockade; Joyce, you take the west. Mr. Trelawney and Gray will take this long north side; it is there the danger is. If they can cross the stockade and fire in upon us through the wall of our log-house, things will begin to look bad. Hawkins, neither you nor I are of much use at the shooting; so we will load, and help where we can."

The sun had now climbed above the trees. The mist vanished. The sand became hot. Coats were thrown off, and shirts opened at the neck, and we stood anxiously at our places, baking in the heat.

An hour passed away.

"Hang them!" said the captain. "This is as quiet as a dead calm at sea. Gray, whistle for a wind."

And just at that moment came the first news of the attack.

"If you please, sir," said Joyce, "if I see anyone, am I to fire?"

"I told you so!" cried the captain.

"Thank you, sir," replied Joyce, with the same quiet politeness.

Nothing followed for a time; but the remark had set us all on the watch for the least sign of the enemy.

So some minutes passed, till suddenly Joyce lifted up his gun and fired. The sound had scarcely died away ere it was repeated and repeated from without in scattered reply, shot behind shot, from every side of the stockade. Several shots struck the log-house, but not one entered; and, as the smoke cleared away and vanished, the stockade and the woods around it looked as quiet and empty as before. Not a branch waved, not the glimmer of a gun-barrel showed the presence of our foes.

"Did you hit your man?" asked the captain.

"No, sir," replied Joyce. "I believe not, sir."

"Next best thing to hitting him is to tell the truth," said Captain Smollett. "Load his gun, Hawkins. How many would you say there were on your side, doctor?"

"I know exactly," said Dr. Livesey. "Three shots were fired on this side. I saw the three flashes—two close together—one farther to the west."

"Three!" repeated the captain. "And how many on yours, Mr. Trelawney?"

But this was not so easily answered. There had come many from the north—seven, by Mr. Trelawney's counting; eight or nine according to Gray. From the east and west only a single shot had been fired. It was plain, therefore, that the attack would come from the north, and that on the other three sides there would be only a mere show. But Captain Smollett made no change in his arrangement. If the enemy succeeded in crossing the stockade, they would seize any unprotected opening in the wall and shoot us down like rats within.

Nor had we much time left to us for thought. Suddenly, with a loud shout, a little cloud of pirates leaped from the woods on the north side, and ran straight on the stockade. At the same moment, the fire was once more opened from the woods, and a ball sang through the doorway, and knocked the doctor's gun into bits.

The enemy climbed over the fence like monkeys. Mr. Trelawney and Gray fired again and yet again; three men fell, one forward inside the stockade, two back on the outside. But of these, one seemed more frightened than hurt, for he was soon on his feet again, and instantly disappeared among the trees.

Two were dead, one had fled, four had succeeded in getting inside the stockade; while from the shelter of the wood seven or eight men, each supplied with several guns, kept up a hot though useless fire on the log-house.

The four who had got inside made straight before them for the building, shouting as they ran. Several shots were fired; but such was the hurry that not one appeared to have taken effect. In a moment, the four pirates had climbed up the hill and were upon us.

The head of Job Anderson appeared at the middle window in our wall.

"At 'em, all together!" he roared, in a voice of thunder.

At the same moment, another pirate seized Hunter's gun by the barrel, tore it from his hands, pulled it through the hole and, with one terrible blow, laid the poor fellow senseless on the floor. Meanwhile a third, running unharmed all round the house, appeared suddenly in the doorway, and fell with his sword on the doctor.

Things were now completely changed about. A moment ago we were firing, under cover, at an enemy in the open; now it was we who lay uncovered, and could not return a blow.

The log-house was full of smoke, to which we owed our safety. Cries and noise, the flashes and bangs of pistol shots, and one loud moan, rang in my ears.

"Out, lads, out and fight 'em in the open! Swords!" cried the captain.

I seized a sword, and someone, at the same time taking another, gave me a cut across the hand which I hardly felt. I dashed out of the door into the clear sunlight. Someone was close behind, I knew not who. Right in front, the doctor was pursuing his foe down the hill. Just as my eyes fell upon him, the doctor beat down his guard, and sent him on his back, with a great cut across the face.

"Round the house, lads! round the house!" cried the captain; and even in the excitement I observed a change in his voice.

I obeyed, turned eastwards, and, with my sword raised, ran round the corner of the house. Next moment I was face to face with Anderson. He roared aloud, and his blade went up above his head, flashing in the sunlight. I had not time to be afraid, but, as the blow still hung over me, leaped to one side. My foot slipped in the soft sand, and I rolled down the slope.

When I had first run out from the door, the other pirates had been already climbing up the stockade to make an end of us. One man, in a red night-cap, with his knife in his mouth, had even got up on the top and thrown a leg across. When I found my feet again, the fellow with the red nightcap was still half-way over, another still just showing his head above the top of the stockade. And yet, in this breath of time the fight was over, and the victory was ours.

Gray, following close behind me, had cut down Anderson ere he had time to recover from his lost blow. Another had been shot in the very act of firing into the house, and now lay wounded, the pistol still smoking in his hand. The doctor had dealt with a third. Of the four who had climbed the stockade, one only remained unwounded, and he, having left his sword on the field, was now climbing out again with the fear of death upon him.

"Fire—fire from the house!" cried the doctor. "And you, lads, back into cover."

But his words were not obeyed, no shot was fired, and the last attacker made good his escape, and disappeared with the rest into the wood. Nothing remained of the attacking party but the five who had fallen, four on the inside, and one on the outside, of the stockade.

The doctor and Gray and I ran full speed for shelter. The enemy would soon be back where they had left their guns, and at any moment the fire might begin again.

The house was by this time somewhat cleared of smoke, and we saw the price we had paid for victory. Hunter lay senseless from a blow on the head; Joyce lay at his post shot through the head, never to move again; while right in the centre Mr. Trelawney was supporting the captain.

"The captain's wounded," said Mr. Trelawney.

"Have they run?" asked Mr. Smollett.

"All that could," replied the doctor; "but there are five of them will never run again."

"Five!" cried the captain. "Come, that's better. They have lost five, and we only three. That leaves us four against eight."