The men were well on the alert this time, and one of them, in spite of the darkness, saw which way the prisoner had taken, that being none other than the narrow passage between the rocks which Hilary had found.
He saw him go down here, and then caught sight of him as he climbed over the rock.
“This way,” shouted the sailor as he scrambled over after the escaping man, got into the chasm on the other side, and then following him, just in time to hear a dull, heavy thud, and his mate staggered back against him half stunned by a heavy blow.
Just then there was a sharp whiz; and he felt the wind of a blow aimed at him from the rocks above his head, to which he replied by lugging out his hanger and dealing a vigorous blow at his unseen enemy, but without effect.
“Here, this way,” he shouted. “Waters! Tom Tully! Here they are.”
A sturdy “Ahoy!” came in response, just as the first man began to scramble to his feet and stood rubbing his head.
“Where away?” cried Billy Waters.
“Here ho!” replied both the men in the narrow pass; and beading the rest of the party, the gunner, after another hail or two, scrambled over and joined the two first men, every one of the party now having his unsheathed cutlass in his hand.
“Well,” cried the gunner excitedly, “where are they?”
“Close here,” said the man who had received the blow. “One of ’em hit me with a handspike.”