He pointed along the avenue formed by the overhanging boughs to an open patch, into the centre of which a steep rock jutted.
"It seems at this distance to be suitable," he went on, "for it has some bushes on it to form a covering, and it is not overgrown by trees. We should be able to get shelter by piling up a few boulders, and, while hidden ourselves, could tell the instant an enemy attempted to approach us."
"Den let us go, massa," cried Li, "for me see dat a boat have put out from Rembas, and velly soon de pirates be here."
Stepping into the boat they grasped the paddles and had very soon reached the edge of the trees. And here Tyler sprang ashore and dived into the jungle, for to have taken the boat out into the open would have been madness, as she would at once have stood out against the bank and have been seen by those in the boat which had just shot from the opposite shore.
"It will do well," cried Tyler in tones of delight as he reached the back of the rock and closely inspected its surface. "I reckon it to be at least a hundred feet in height, and at the back it is almost as smooth as glass, while it is far too steep to be climbed, even by the most active of natives. Then, as I remarked before, the trees seem to have fought shy of this spot, probably because the ground about is rocky, and so there is a wide clearing all round. Yes, it will be a refuge, and if the worst comes to the worst we can hold it against the enemy. Now for the boat."
Running back to his companion he beckoned to him to bring the craft close in, and then hastily issued his orders, for he realized that there was no time to be lost if they wished to take up their position on the rock.
"We will run her up and then carry her as near to the rock as possible," he said. "By turning well away from the water we shall be able to reach a point from which we can move into the open without being seen, and there we can leave the boat if we wish, for she will be under our rifle-fire."
"But at night de pirates burn her or carry her off, and den what will Li and massa do?" demanded the Chinaman. "Dere am no great weight here, and de two of us carry him easily."