"Whoop—ee!" shouted Pat from the deck.
"Got her off all right!" shouted Jimmie. "Nobody hurt!"
"Straight to the Northwest," shouted Ned, "and keep your rockets going!"
"I wish we had been able to get on board," Frank said, regretfully, as the Manhattan showed a clean pair of heels out of the bay. "I saw Jack on her."
"The boys on board have their instructions," Ned said, "and now we may as well be getting out of range of these little brown men! If Pat and the others hadn't been on their guard the boat would have been captured."
The moon was rising now, almost at full, and brought the natives, standing on the beach, out in full relief. They were well armed, and seemed very angry at the turn matters had taken. They had evidently been sent out to capture the boat, and were not pleased at the report they would now be obliged to make.
They stood looking out at the fast receding boat for only a moment before opening fire on her. Directly, however, the Manhattan was out of range, and then they turned their attention to Ned's party, which, being hidden by the thicket, might not have been discovered at that time only for the instructions shouted out by Ned as the boat slid away.
Knowing that he would be between two fires if a battle opened, Ned made no show of resistance when the natives approached him with leveled guns. There was a great bustle between the Tusks now, showing that the cargo of the schooner, whatever it was, was being landed, and it was natural to suppose that there existed an understanding between the crew and the men on the island.
"Don't try to shoot!" a voice said in good English. "My men have you covered."
"Who are you?" asked Ned, not much surprised, after what had taken place, to find the party officered by an American.