“Look there,” said Jack.
“Whales!” cried Peterkin, shading his eyes with his hand. “No—eh—can they be boats, Jack?”
Our hearts beat with excitement at the very thought of seeing human faces again.
“I think you are about right, Peterkin. But they seem to me to move strangely for boats,” said Jack in a low tone, as if he were talking to himself.
I noticed that a shade of anxiety crossed Jack’s countenance as he gazed long and intently at the two objects, which were now nearing us fast. At last he sprang to his feet. “They are canoes, Ralph! whether war-canoes or not, I cannot tell; but this I know—that all the natives of the South Sea Islands are fierce cannibals, and they have little respect for strangers. We must hide if they land here, which I earnestly hope they will not do.”
I was greatly alarmed at Jack’s speech; but I confess I thought less of what he said than of the earnest, anxious manner in which he said it, and it was with very uncomfortable feelings that Peterkin and I followed him quickly into the woods.
“How unfortunate,” said I as we gained the shelter of the bushes, “that we have forgotten our arms!”
“It matters not,” said Jack; “here are clubs enough and to spare.” As he spoke, he laid his hand on a bundle of stout poles of various sizes, which Peterkin’s ever-busy hands had formed, during our frequent visits to the cliff, for no other purpose, apparently, than that of having something to do.
We each selected a stout club according to our several tastes and lay down behind a rock, whence we could see the canoes approach without ourselves being seen. At first we made an occasional remark on their appearance; but after they entered the lagoon and drew near the beach, we ceased to speak, and gazed with intense interest at the scene before us.
We now observed that the foremost canoe was being chased by the other, and that it contained a few women and children as well as men—perhaps forty souls altogether—while the canoe which pursued it contained only men. They seemed to be about the same in number, but were better armed, and had the appearance of being a war-party. Both crews were paddling with all their might, and it seemed as if the pursuers exerted themselves to overtake the fugitives ere they could land. In this, however, they failed. The foremost canoe made for the beach close beneath the rocks behind which we were concealed. Their short paddles flashed like meteors in the water, and sent up a constant shower of spray. The foam curled from the prow, and the eyes of the rowers glistened in their black faces as they strained every muscle of their naked bodies. Nor did they relax their efforts till the canoe struck the beach with a violent shock; then, with a shout of defiance, the whole party sprang, as if by magic, from the canoe to the shore. Three women, two of whom carried infants in their arms, rushed into the woods; and the men crowded to the water’s edge, with stones in their hands, spears levelled, and clubs brandished, to resist the landing of their enemies.