“No, my lad, I’m afraid we can do nothing more than see them—Ah! They have found it!” said my father as a loud shout of triumph rang out from below. “Well, as you say, there’s plenty more in the hillside, and we must set to work again, I suppose, and take warning by this and never keep a store here.”
It was all plain enough. The silver was found, and the little boxes in which the ingots were packed in saw-dust were carried out and stood down by the blazing fire—twenty of them; and just as this was done there was the thud of a cannon away off the mouth of the Gap.
“Signal for recall,” said my father.
It was quickly obeyed, for the French formed up round twenty of their party who shouldered the boxes. Four men with drawn swords went first, as if they were making a showy procession in the blaze of the burning fire; then came the twenty men carrying silver, then six more with drawn swords; then a group of about ten who seemed to be wounded, and four more who were being carried; and lastly some twenty or thirty, with swords flashing in the firelight, to form a rearguard.
“En avant!” rang out clearly in the night air, and away they went chattering and making plenty of noise, just as a second gun was fired and seemed to make the air throb as the report echoed up the valley.
“Why, there must be nigh a hundred on ’em. We may have a shot at ’em now, captain, mayn’t us?” cried the foreman.
“What for, my man?” said my father kindly. “If we could save the silver I would say yes, but it would be only spilling blood unnecessarily. We made a brave defence and were beaten. We could not master them now, even if we could fire volleys every five minutes. It would only mean a fierce fight, and we should be hunted down one by one for nothing. No: they have won. Let them go now, but I should like to see them embark. A good-sized French man-of-war must be off the Gap.”
“Come on, then, captain, and let’s get over the mouth.”
“No,” said my father. “You go with my son and one of the men, but I forbid firing. See all you can. I must stay and look after our poor fellows here, unless they’ve taken them away as prisoners.”
“Ah! I forgot them,” said our man. “Come along, Master Sep. Let’s go down here and cross, and get on the cliff path.”