he smallest aid to us or the smallest obstacle to our enemies. Indeed,
the poor fellows were so broken with fear and suffering that I think
they would have slept if they had heard that Cornelys Jensen, with all
his pack, had landed upon the island. As it was, in a very few minutes
all of them were lying in a row and sleeping soundly. I could almost
have wept as I looked upon them lying there so quiet and so miserable,
and thought of all the high hopes with which they had entered upon the
adventure that had proved so disastrous for them and so fatal for so
many of their companions.

Having thus disposed of them, our next course was to take such steps as
we could towards strengthening our position. To begin with, we hauled
our boat further up the creek than she now was, for it would be a
terrible misfortune to us if anything were to happen to her, seeing that
on her depended any chance we had of leaving the island if we were so
far pushed as to have to make the attempt. Our position was not an easy
one to attack as it stood, coming, as the attack must, from the island
we had left, for of an attack in our rear we had no danger. Even if
Cornelys Jensen were able to get to the back of our island, it would
take him an intolerable time to make his way through the well-nigh
impenetrable woods that lay between us. On our front we felt confident
that the attack would come, and we felt further confident that, even if
it was made with the full force of ruffians that Jensen had at his
command, we ought to be able to repulse it, and to prevent the
scoundrels from effecting a landing. For though the news that they were
thoroughly equipped with the weapons and munitions of war was wofully
disheartening news, still, as we were well-armed ourselves, it did not
altogether discourage us. They might be very well two to one, but two to
one is no such great odds when the larger party has to effect a landing
upon an open place held by resolute men and well weaponed.

It was, in Lancelot's judgment, our first duty to erect a sort of fort
or stockade upon the beach, wherein we could take shelter if we were
really hard pressed, and wherein we could store for greater safety our
stores and ammunition from our skiff. We had set up several huts along
the shore of the creek for habitation and for storage of our goods. But
they would have offered no protection in case of an attack, being but
mere shells hurriedly put together, and intended merely as te