of the report of our volley rang about us; from the
woods came clamour, the screaming and chattering of wakened birds, and
we could even hear the brushing of their wings as they flew from tree
to tree in their terror. But in front of us the sounds were the most
terrible of all; the splashing of bodies falling into the water, the
shrieks of wounded men, the howls and curses of the astonished and
infuriated enemy. We could not tell what hurt we had done, but it must
have been grave, for we had fired at close range, and we were all good
marksmen.

But we could not hope that we had crippled our invaders, or done much
toward equalising our forces. For, as it had seemed in that moment of
illumination, we were outnumbered by well-nigh two to one.

There was no need to fire another light; it was impossible that we could
hope to hold our own in the open, and our enemies would be upon us
before we had time to reload, so there was nothing for it but to retreat
to the stockade with all speed.

Lancelot gave the order, and in another instant we were racing for the
stockade, bending low as we ran, for the pirates had begun to fire in
our direction. But their firing was wild, and it hit none of us; and it
stopped as suddenly as it began, for they soon perceived that it was
idle waste of powder and ball in shooting into the darkness.

Luckily for us, we knew every inch of our territory by heart, and could
make our way well enough to the stockade in the gloom, while we could
hear the pirates behind splashing and stumbling as they landed.

But as they were taken aback by the suddenness of our assault and its
result, they were not eager to advance into the night, and, as I
guessed, waited awhile after landing from their boats.

As for us, we did not pause until we had passed, every one of us,
between the gates of our stockade, and heard them close behind us, and
the bar fall into its place. The first thing I saw in the dim light was
the face of Marjorie, fair in its pale patience. She had a pistol in her
hand, and I knew why she held it.

CHAPTER XXX

OUR FLAG COMES DOWN

We lay still inside our fortalice for awhile, listening, as well as the
throbbing of our pulses would allow, to try and hear what our invaders
were doing.

We could hear the sound of their voices down on the beach, and the
splashing they made in the water as they dragged their dead or wounded
comrades out of the water and hauled their boats close up t