Possibly they were unaware of our expedition into the interior, for had they known of this they would certainly have ambushed our party on the march.
The prolonged stay of our two ships in the harbour had puzzled them not a little, and when their three vessels returned, the fourth having been separated from her consorts, a combined attack by land and sea had been planned.
By some means the two buccaneering parties had failed to co-operate, so that their ships had already been beaten off ere the land force appeared. The latter had heard the firing, but, little thinking that we should have held our own, they imagined the victory already complete, till in the darkness they stumbled upon our stockade.
"How many men were left to guard your settlement?" demanded Touchstone.
"Only a handful--enough to keep the slaves in order," replied our prisoner.
"Is the place fortified?"
"By a wall and a ditch. There are eighteen guns in position."
"And when will the fourth ship return?"
"I do not know."
"Remove him," ordered the master gunner, and he hurried off to the shore, whence the crew of one of the boats rowed him to the Golden Hope.