"A battle-field, I should say," as he examined them one after another. "This is very curious. This fellow was killed by a bullet through the head. Here's the hole. And this one's skull was split with an axe or a sword. This one also. I wonder what it all means...."
"Pirates and murderers. That's what they look like."
"I shouldn't wonder.... Here's an ancient cutlass."
"And what's this?"—rooting at something with her foot.... "An old pistol! ... and the hilt of another sword! ... I wonder if they were the men who lived on our ships."
"Maybe. But I think these things are older than the ships.... Why—the place is thick with them," as they wandered on. "There must be scores of them, and more still underneath the ridges, no doubt.... There was no lack of life here at one time evidently——"
"And death!"
"Yes, and death without a doubt. A good thing for us, perhaps, that customers such as these don't frequent it now."
"I'm glad we live at the other end. You haven't found any bones there, have you?"
"Not a bone! They're not very cheerful company. Let us hope the next gale will cover them up again."
Further on, in another trench, they found one side of a boat, mouldered almost into the similitude of the sand in which it had been embedded for very many years. And, further along still, Wulf thought he could make out the stark ribs of ships like those on the outer banks at their own end of the island. But they were very far away and held out no inducement to closer investigation, and Avice had had enough of such things for the time being.