Boarding the gunboat.
That evening, followed by a heterogeneous fleet of about twenty small vessels crammed with fighting men, the Teal sailed again, and their time of arrival was so contrived that dawn of the next morning but one found the little fleet in delightfully calm weather forming a semi-circle from one point of the shore to the other, the focus of its radius being formed by the gunboat on the rocks.
The plans had been made on the voyage, and as there was plenty of water for every vessel but the schooner, the latter’s boats, well filled with men, alone accompanied the rest.
It was an attack, but no defence, for as soon as the crew of the gunboat realised the formidable nature and numbers of the expedition, they took to the boats to try and escape to the shore. But the cliffs forbade this, and after another attempt or two to get away, all surrendered and gave up their arms, ready, as had been predicted, to begin cheering Don Ramon, the officers as they gave up their swords humbly asking to be allowed to retain their positions under the new Government, for there seemed to be a general acceptation of the fact now that the petty war was at an end.
Don Ramon’s answer to this was to accept the services of the officers and the best of the men. The rest were boated off to the mouth of the river and set ashore.
“Ornamental, I call it,” said Chips, as he sat forward in one of the schooner’s boats commanded by Poole, in which, as a matter of course, Fitz had taken his place.
“What is, Chips?” said Poole. “Do you mean your head?”
“My head, sir,” said the carpenter, staring. “Well, no, sir, I didn’t mean my head. ’Tain’t a bad one as it goes, but I never set myself up for a good-looking chap, one of your handsome sort. I allus left that to the Camel here.”
The men, who were resting on their oars, burst into a roar of laughter, and the cook laughing as heartily as the rest and displaying his great teeth, but his mirth was silent.
“Hark at him,” he said. “Chips is a wonderful man for a joke.”