He was a bright, manly fellow, and my father and he became friends at once, while he was quite humorous in his indignation.
“The cowardly scoundrels!” he cried. “Oh, if we had only been here! How delighted my Jacks would have been to have a go at them!”
“Do you think so?” said my father smiling.
“Think so, sir? Why, my boys have been half mad with disappointment. Poor fellows! Just about a dozen of you. Well, there’s no mistake about your having made a brave defence, Captain Duncan. Not a man unhurt. Sir, I’m proud to know you.”
“My men behaved better than I did, sir,” said my father modestly.
“Oh, of course, sir,” cried the lieutenant laughing; “but avast talking. What can we do for you? I’m here ashore with the lugger and prisoners till my ship comes back, so what shall we do? You don’t want doctoring, I see?”
“We want covering in first of all, sir,” said the doctor, pointing to the unroofed shed.
“Of course you do,” cried the lieutenant; “and all your men wounded. Here, heave ahead, my lads, and half of you run back to the lugger and bring up all the spare sails and spars you can get hold of. If there are no spars bring the sweeps.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” cried the sailors; and half of them went off at the double back along the valley, while the others, under the command of their officer, set to work and shovelled and brushed out all the burnt charcoal and smouldering wood from the long shed, and then from the counting-house, and after that they were busy at work cutting ling and heath with their cutlasses, when the men despatched to the lugger came back loaded with sails and spars.
At it they went, and in a very short time had rigged up a roof over the shed for our poor fellows, carried in a quantity of ling, and spread over that more sail-cloth, making quite a comfortable bed with room for a dozen men, and ample space for the doctor to go between.