them, which seemed to him to show more knowledge of guns than they
could have learned on that bright morning. What, thought Shard to
himself, if they should bring big guns against the Desperate Lark! And
the mere thought of it made him rail at Fate. But the merry men all
cheered when they rode away. Shard had only twenty-two oxen left, and
then a score or so of the Arabs dismounted while the rest rode further
on leading their horses. And the dismounted men lay down on the port
bow behind some rocks two hundred yards away and began to shoot at the
oxen. Shard had just enough of them left to manoeuvre his ship with an
effort and he turned his ship a few points to the starboard so as to
get a broadside at the rocks. But grape was of no use here as the only
way he could get an Arab was by hitting one of the rocks with shot
behind which an Arab was lying, and the rocks were not easy to hit
except by chance, and as often as he manoeuvred his ship the Arabs
changed their ground. This went on all day while the mounted Arabs
hovered out of range watching what Shard would do; and all the while
the oxen were growing fewer, so good a mark were they, until only ten
were left, and the ship could manoeuvre no longer. But then they all
rode off.

The merry men were delighted, they calculated that one way and another
they had unhorsed a hundred Arabs and on board there had been no more
than one man wounded: Bad Jack had been hit in the wrist; probably by
a bullet meant for the men at the guns, for the Arabs were firing
high. They had captured a horse and had found quaint weapons on the
bodies of the dead Arabs and an interesting kind of tobacco. It was
evening now and they talked over the fight, made jokes about their
luckier shots, smoked their new tobacco and sang; altogether it was
the jolliest evening they'd had. But Shard alone on the quarter-deck
paced to and fro pondering, brooding and wondering. He had chopped off
Bad Jack's wounded hand and given him a hook out of store, for captain
does doctor upon these occasions and Shard, who was ready for most
things, kept half a dozen or so of neat new limbs, and of course a
chopper. Bad Jack had gone below swearing a little and said he'd lie
down for a bit, the men were smoking and singing on the sand, and
Shard was there alone. The thought that troubled Shard was: what would
the Arabs do? They did not look like men to go away for nothing. And
at back of all his thoughts was one that rei