The last thing I took away was my white ensign, and although it was nighttime, I hoisted it on board the Sally again. It had several bullet holes through it, and was torn and looked jolly warworn. I thought even then that I'd keep it—if the signalman didn't collar it himself—for my mother, or perhaps give it to Nan when I got home.
We had cast off from the Ringdove, and had anchored close to her. My orders were to make the cutter "fast" along-side, man it in the morning with all the Sally's crew who were left, and follow the Ringdove up the creek directly it was light.
I was very excited, but managed to find some place to lie down, and slept jolly well, which only shows how very tired I must have been.
Sharpe woke me at six, half an hour before sunrise. We all had some hot cocoa and some biscuit, and then we got as many rifles and revolvers and cutlasses as we could find, and filled the Gardner's hopper with cartridges. We crept about in the dark without making any noise, could presently hear the hands "turning out" aboard the Ringdove, and took our places in the cutter and waited to shove her off. When it was light enough to just see the rocks, Mr. Rashleigh called out that he was not going to weigh for another half-hour, and there we had to sit, and the longer we waited the less brave we felt—at any rate, I felt. I don't believe that anyone can feel brave on a dark cold morning.
It seemed like hours before we heard her cable "clanking in", and that woke us up again with a funny, cold feeling, and in a few minutes the water under her stern began to swirl, and she started very slowly for the entrance, and we pulled away from the Sally after her.
Then there came a surprise, if you like. My aunt! it did startle us.
Right on top of the cliffs, over our heads, a terrific roar broke out, and splash went a shot right under the Ringdove's stern, and the water fell right aboard her.
"They've hauled a gun up there—on the right, sir," Sharpe said very quietly, and somehow or other I felt certain that this would decide Mr. Rashleigh not to go up that creek. I am certain that he never really wanted to go there.
He yelled to me to come alongside, and then he yelled for me to go back to the Sally, cut her cable, and clear out of it.
I was very frightened, and hurried back to the Sally—Ah Chee was the only one aboard her—when another roar came from above, the shot fell between the Ringdove and ourselves, and wetted us all. I saw the Ringdove hurrying towards the foot of the cliffs, where the gun couldn't touch her.