"Where are the others?"
"Still in the shack yonder, sir. Before rations were served out this morning I made 'em all take a bath in the harbour. One of 'em, who speaks English, said he should complain to you."
"On account of the bath?"
"Yes, sir. Called it cruelty towards defenceless prisoners."
"We'll see about that later. How many have you got, Mr. Dykes?"
"Somewhere between thirty and forty I guess, sir. One of them—the slob who complained about the bath—reckons that the explosion and the fire did for about the same number, not countin' those who were killed and wounded in the fighting."
"Which means that there must have been about a hundred men in the fort all told."
"That's how I figger it out, sir."
"Well, you'd better fetch the prisoners out, Mr. Dykes, and I'll have a look at them," said Calamity.
Accordingly they were marched out of the "go-down" under an armed guard and paraded before the Captain. Most of them were soldiers, but a few had formed part of the gunboat's crew and belonged to the German Naval Reserve.