“And we were so much taken up by our own firing that we did not hear a sound of yours?”
“Have you beaten them off?” asked Oliver.
“Yes, they’ve drawn back for the time,” replied the mate. “Then if you two had not helped in the defence of the brig, they would have got in?”
“I suppose so,” said Oliver; “but, pray see to Mr Panton.”
The request was necessary, and it was some time before he recovered sufficiently to answer when spoken to, then falling into a sleep that was broken by feverish dreams.
Chapter Thirty One.
The Scouting Party.
Mr Rimmer felt great unwillingness for anyone to leave the brig, but at the end of forty-eight hours, during which no sign whatever had been seen of the enemy, he felt that some investigations must be made to see whether they had left the island or were lurking somewhere near, in one of the patches of forest, waiting for an opportunity to take the occupants of the brig at a disadvantage.