sack the place, carrying
away everything that took their fancy, including the treasure-chests,
murder Billy and me, and burn down the house out of sheer love of
destruction.

These reflections, which have taken me so long to record, flashed
through my mind upon the instant following my recognition of the
character of the stranger; and realisation of the danger that possibly
threatened us naturally led up to the question: How was that danger to
be averted? Could Billy and I alone hope to put up a successful defence
against an attack by perhaps thirty or forty determined men? For, let
Chinamen be what they may in other respects, they are not easily daunted
by a sense of personal danger, especially if animated by the hope of
plunder. Then in a moment there came to me the memory of Bowata and the
natives of Cliff Island. They had been most profuse in their
expressions of gratitude for the help which we had afforded them from
time to time, and had repeatedly declared their eagerness to find an
opportunity to give practical demonstration of that gratitude: here was
their opportunity; and all that was needed was to make them aware of it.
I took another long look at the junk, and came to the conclusion that
she could not reach the lagoon in much less than four hours, which would
allow me time to make a single trip in the boat to Cliff Island, get
into touch with Bowata, secure his assistance, and return to Eden with
my dusky reinforcements. I decided to do so, and, without waiting for
breakfast, at once started for the cove--and the boat.

The wind being fair, I made a quick run across to Cliff Island; and a
swift-footed native boy soon brought Bowata down to the landing-place
where we usually met. Explaining the circumstances to him, I found him,
as I had quite anticipated, more than ready to render me every possible
assistance; and, departing to muster his men, he returned in a very
short time with nineteen of his most reliable fighters--the boat's
utmost capacity was twenty, in addition to myself, and the chief
naturally elected to accompany and head his party. Those men, Bowata
assured me, were the pick of the entire tribe, and I quite believed him,
for, although small and slight compared with the average Englishman,
they were lithe, wiry, active, and resolute-looking men, with an eager
gleam in their eyes which seemed to suggest that the prospect of a fight
was the reverse of distasteful to them. They were each a