“They are coming!” he cried; “they are coming!”
“And their strength?” asked Halcott calmly.
“Five great war-canoes, and each one of them contains at least thirty armed warriors.”
“And there may be more to follow. Humph! Well, we shall have to reckon with between two and three hundred at least. What about making overtures of peace to them, brother James?”
Now brother James, as has already been said, was a very practical kind of a Christian.
“Well,” he said, slowly and thoughtfully, “I think, Charlie Halcott, that in this case our duty lies straight and clear before us, and we’ve got to go for it. We shall just be content to make war first, and leave the peace to follow.”
Every man heard him, and the hearty British cheer they gave was re-echoed even from the hill itself.
It was agreed by all, however, that to fight these savages in the open would be but to court death and destruction to all hands.
Other tactics must be adopted. The enemy would no doubt land on the beach, and so the big gun was dragged towards the cliff-top. Here they would make their first stand, and, if possible, sink some of the war-canoes before they had a chance to land.
In savage warfare cover is considered of very great importance. It was determined, therefore, to deprive the invaders of this at any cost, so heaps of withered branches and foliage were collected and placed here and there all around the bay and close to the edge of the wood; and not only there, but on the table-land itself, between the encampment and Observatory Hill.