soon as they get their noses near enough."

"Ay, ay, sir!" cried the men in cheerful tones; "we'll soon give them a
taste of our cutlasses, and they'll not wish to have a second bite."

Tom's suspicions were confirmed, when in another minute a hot fire was
again opened, the bullets just clearing the edge of the platform; and
directly afterwards the chief and several of his followers sprang up
upon it. Once having gained possession of the ground, it was easy
enough for the rest. Matters were now becoming far more serious than
before. From another opening in the rock, Tom, although still concealed
from the Arabs, was able to look down upon the anchorage. "Hurrah!" he
exclaimed; "Mr Matson has not been asleep; there comes the boat from
the island, and if the slavers are not sharp about getting under way,
she'll have the whole of them; but one or two are pretty sure to be
caught."

As he spoke, the report of a gun was heard, and it was seen that the
boat, as she pulled towards the slavers, was firing at them from her
bow. The Arabs on the hillside, startled by the sound, looked round;
those who were in a position to see what was happening below, shouted to
their companions, who speedily began to leap down the rocks; most of
those on the platform, in their hurry and fright, springing down a
distance by which they ran an imminent risk of breaking their necks;
others bounded down the pathway in a mode terror alone could have
prompted them to venture on.

"Now's our time!" exclaimed Desmond, seizing several large stones which
lay in the hollow; "if our bullets can't reach them, these will;" and he
and Tom, leaping from under cover on to the platform, while their men
kept up a brisk fire, began to pelt the retreating Arabs, three of whom
were knocked over, several others having broken their legs or necks in
their flight, till the hillside presented the appearance of a
battlefield. All this time the midshipmen and sailors were shouting and
hallooing at their flying foes. The larger number of the Arabs,
however, reached the bottom of the hill unhurt, and were seen hurrying
down to the shore, apparently with the intention of shoving off to the
dhows to assist their countrymen. They were all collected together,
engaged in launching a boat, when a shell plunged right in among them,
killing and wounding several. The rest, fearing the visit of another
missile, took to flight. The desire, however, of preventing the slaves