.

"Why, what's the matter?" exclaimed Harry.

Scarcely had he asked the question than another gun was fired.

"Old Tom thinks there's danger somewhere, and wants us aboard again."

I was unwilling to alarm Mary and Fanny, so, instead of shouting out, I
waited till I could get up to my brother, when I told him quietly what
we had seen.

"The sooner we are aboard the better, for the canoes appear to be coming
on at a great rate," I added.

"No doubt about it," he answered; and, telling the ladies to shut up
their books, he hurried with them towards the boats, bidding Lizard and
Dick to run on ahead and order the men to be in readiness to shove off.
We were not long in reaching the boats, and we prepared to return in the
order we had left the schooner, I having Dick and Nat with me. Harry's
boat got off first, and his crew gave way with a will; mine followed at
some little distance. Just as we opened the eastern point of the island
I got sight of the fleet of canoes coming round it, and steering
directly for the schooner. Old Tom saw us coming, yet he fired again,
probably in the hopes of scaring the natives and preventing them from
attacking us; but this did not appear to have any effect on them,
perhaps because they were ignorant of the power of firearms. Fast as we
were pulling they came along faster, and it seemed doubtful if we should
reach the schooner before they were up to us. As yet they were some way
to the eastward, so that the course on which they were approaching the
schooner formed an angle of about thirty degrees with that on which we
were steering; thus, a shot fired from her, might hit them without the
risk of injuring us. We had come away with only three hands in the boat
besides Dick. I made him take the stroke-oar, that I might assist him,
while I placed Nat at the helm. I now told Nat to edge up slightly to
the eastward, so that we might keep between Harry's boat and the
savages. Though we bent to our oars, the canoes were gaining on us. It
was just possible that their intentions were friendly, but it would be
folly to trust to them. How I wished for a breeze, that the schooner
might get under weigh and come to our assistance! There was, however,
not a breath of wind to fill her sails, so that we must, I saw, depend
on our own exertions. Old Tom did not again fire, probably because he
considered that, unless he could hit one of the canoes, the savages
would fancy that the shot would