fired upon
us. We were greeted with a volley of musketry, which, however, never
stopped us in our rush a single instant, and as we clambered in at one
side we had the satisfaction of seeing the rascally Spaniards go flying
out at the other, whence they made short miles of it to a boat which lay
awaiting them on the beach at the opposite side of the island, some two
or three hundred yards away. We sent a few ineffectual flying shots
after them, but attempted no pursuit, as we now found ourselves to some
extent masters of the situation; in so far, that is to say, that we
found the battery admirably adapted as a place wherein to make a stand
until such time as we could see our way clear to once more take
offensive measures. As for the Spaniards, they made good their retreat
to a large hulk which lay securely moored at a distance of some twenty
yards from the steeply sloping eastern shore of the island, and which--
floating high out of the water as she did, with channel-plates removed
and no gear whatever about her sides to aid us in boarding should we
make the attempt--would, I foresaw, prove rather a hard nut for us to
crack. Our footing thus made good upon the island and in the battery,
we had a moment or two in which to look about us, and the first
discovery made was that poor old Mildmay, the master, had been wounded,
and was lying helpless, face downwards on the sward outside the battery.
The next was, that the natives had recovered from their panic and were
actually once more advancing against us, spreading out on all sides so
as to completely encircle the island.

The first object demanding our attention was, of course, the master.
Directing the man Tom, our chief artilleryman, to look into the state of
the guns belonging to the battery, and to load them afresh, I called a
couple of men and took them with me to bring in the master. The poor
old fellow was lying upon the grass face downwards, and when we gently
raised him it became apparent that he had been bleeding rather profusely
at the mouth. He was senseless and ghastly pale, and for the moment I
feared he was dead. A low moan, however, as the men began to move with
him, gave us the assurance that life was not quite extinct, and as
gently as we could we lifted him over the low earth parapet, and laid
him down under its shelter in comparative safety.

The command of the party now devolved upon me, and a very serious
responsibility under the circumstances