The scenes of riot, quarrelling, drinking, and imprecation were so dreadful we could not keep watch any more, but hurried as far we were able from the sight and sounds of life so abhorrent to our nature, so horrid to witness. With pale faces and tearful eyes, and ears yet filled with oaths and bitter words, we proceeded to gain courage and implore help from the throne of grace, feeling how we stood in need of such aid. For not even when about to be a prey to the stormy elements, or the desolate feeling when left alone in a solitary island, or the sudden death which appeared inevitable in the jaws of the horrid snake, not even in all these did we feel our helplessness as we did now. And it was our own species we feared, for whose coming we had so often prayed. It was man, once created in the image of God, that sent this pang of horror through us.
But, enough of this; suffice it to say we were a set of miserable, trembling, quaking women, but God in his mercy calmed and comforted us, so that after the morning prayers we proceeded to make our hiding place still more secure.
As I said before, the waterfall was a most effectual screen, especially now that there was so much water in the brook. The more water that fell of course the more liable we were to get wet as we passed in and out, but, owing to the height from which it fell, the water cleared the rock by some feet, and thus gave us a passage underneath. The tall ones had always to stoop, but the little ones ran out and in like rabbits in a burrow. At the other entrance it was almost as well concealed. Now we got in and out, for the rock projected some ten feet out, and then just round the corner appeared a sort of recess. This seemed exactly smooth with the rock, but, by edging round and squeezing a little, you came to a sort of slit or cleft in the rock and that led to the cavern. But even when there we had innumerable holes and hiding places, and it would have been a good week's work to ferret us all out from thence. In case, however, of discovery, we organised a plan and arranged our places of retreat, and we practised ourselves in quick hiding, and, to get our lesson perfect, in every now and then calling out "The pirates are coming." Whereupon, as a matter of course, every one ran for their lives to their appointed place. Each place had a communication with another, so that we could telegraph all round. The place from whence we made our observations was on a ledge up in the cavern, from whence some of the light came in; it might be about twenty feet from the ground, and we looked down on them. Dreadful wretches.
CHAPTER XXIX.
We were up, had had our shower bath after careful examination, had breakfasted, and yet there lay our enemies in stupid and heavy sleep still.
"Now then," said Gatty, "now is our time."
"Yes," said Otty, "I'll engage to kill them all."
"With my help," said Master Felix consequentially.