were to fire in the direction of the sea.
Lancelot had his lights ready, and we waited anxiously for the flare.

The seconds seemed to lengthen out into centuries as we lay there,
listening to those sounds growing louder, though even at their loudest
they might very well have escaped notice if one were not watching for
them. At last they came to an end altogether, and we could just catch a
sound as of a succession of soft splashes in the water.

Lancelot whispered close to my ear: 'They are getting out in the shallow
water to draw their boats in. We shall have a look at them in an
instant.'

While I held my breath I was conscious that Lancelot was busy with his
flint and steel. His was a sure hand and a firm stroke. I could hear the
click as he struck stone and metal together; there was a gleam of fire
as the fuse caught, and then in another instant one of his fireworks
rose in a blaze of brightness. It only lasted for the space of a couple
of seconds, but in that space of time it showed us all that we had to
see and much more than we wished to see.

As our meteor soared in the air the space in front of us was lit with a
light as clear as the light of dawn, though in colour it was more like
that of the moon--at least, as I have seen her rays represented often
enough since in stage plays. Before us the sea rippled gently against
the sand, and in the shallows we saw the pirates as clearly as we had
seen them on the day when they first came to the island.

There were now three boatloads of them, and the boats were more fully
manned than before. Many of the men were still in the boats, but the
greater part were in the water, barelegged, and were stealthily urging
the boats ashore. They were doing the work quietly, and made little
noise. It was the strangest sight I had ever seen, this sight of those
men in their scarlet coats, that looked so glaring in that blue light,
with their gleaming weapons, all moving towards us with murder in their
minds.

In their amazement at the flame the pirates paused for an instant, and
in that instant Lancelot gave the order we itched for.

'Fire!'

Then the silence was shattered by the discharge of our pieces in a
steady volley. All the island rang with the report, and at that very
instant the rocket on its home curve faded and went out with a kind of
wink, and darkness swallowed us all up again.

But what darkness! The darkness had been still; now it was full of
noises. The echo