“Is that the movement you were speaking of, Roger?” said he, pointing to the brush.
“Yes, there it is again,” said Roger excitedly; “only it is somewhat nearer this time; and see, I am certain that was the flash of the sun upon some steel weapon.”
“Yes, I see; there it is again. I see it clearly now,” answered Harry.
Just then a hail came from below in the captain’s voice.
“Roger, my man, the cable secured to the maintopmast seems to be working loose, and may carry away. Get up aloft, boy, and look at the seizing, and, if necessary, put a fresh one on.”
Roger hastened away up into the main-top, leaving Harry still in his perch, and examined the seizing. It was, as the captain had said, loose, so the boy proceeded to secure it afresh.
Having finished his job to his satisfaction, he prepared to descend from aloft, but, before doing so, cast his eyes round the scene, and nearly fell out of the main-top in his alarm; for there, coming round a point half a mile away, and concealed as yet from those on the beach by a low point, was a large fleet of canoes filled with natives, who were doubtless hoping to come upon the beached vessels unawares. They would certainly have done so had it not been for the fortunate circumstance of Roger being sent aloft.
He threw another glance to seaward, to see if he could count the canoes, and found that there must be quite a hundred of them; then he took a survey of the brushwood inland, and found that his suspicions as to savages being present there were only too true. At his greater elevation he found himself looking down upon quite a horde of them armed with spears, bows and arrows, and clubs. They were advancing slowly through the bush, and their stealthy movement forward had occasioned the swaying to and fro of the foliage that Roger first, and Harry afterwards, had observed.
Roger could not tell whether or not the natives had seen him, and were aware that they were discovered, but hurried down from the main-top with such speed that, when he had reached the last ratline of the rigging, he lost his footing and fell on his back on the sand at the very feet of Cavendish.
Fortunately for him the sand was soft, and he was not much hurt, though a good deal shaken. Pulling himself together, he got on his feet and at once told Cavendish what he had seen.