"That you can't," said Evans. "It'll be a case of go easy for some days for all you hipped ones."
All the men volunteered at once. Every one of them was keen to know what had been going on on the other side of the island.
"You seem fairly fresh, Irvine. Tell Captain Cathie how we've gone on here, and that casualties are not serious. If he can spare us some more help we can do with it to get the wounded down. Ask him to send word to the ladies also. They will be anxious about us all. And if he can send us something to eat we'll be glad of it. I'm feeling empty after it all."
"I'll go after your half-deader," said Evans. "One of you come with me in case he can't walk."
But he was back empty-handed in a quarter of an hour.
"Gone?" asked Blair, with a pinched face.
"He's dead, but you didn't kill him. Some one came after you and split his head with an axe."
"Ah!" said Blair gloomily, "these others will fare the same unless we see to it. We'll go to them, Evans, in case any of our brown friends come prowling round."
But the brown men were much too busy, and we may drop more of a veil over their proceedings than the night did. Big fires were glowing along the beach before it was dark, and no brown man came up the hill that night.
They went along to the temporary hospital Evans had made among the rocks. The beds consisted of the softest patches of ground he could find, and the only furnishings were the patients. He had hastily bandaged their wounds, however, and all, except the yellow men, were fairly cheerful.