The order was indeed seasonable, for between every two of the torchbearers stood a man with a strung bow, and scarcely had we ducked our heads, than a shower of arrows fell among us; to which our men, now that there was no necessity for silence, sent back a yell of defiance. Then came another and another flight, and with such rapidity that, had we possessed fifty rounds of ammunition, we could not have used them to advantage. All that we could do now was to remain kneeling behind the sandbank, reserving our fire for one good, if but last, opportunity of making each shot tell. The Balinese seemed to understand our position, for we could hear them advancing through the water, yelling and shouting. They were terrible sounds, the more so as they were to us symbols of approaching death; but I had “screwed my courage to the sticking point,” not with any hope of preserving my life, but resolutely determined to die bravely. Onward they came—still onward; the boats, which were now in front of the line with torches and arrows, were grazing the shingles when Heaven itself seemed to have sent its thunder to our aid, in the booming of guns. This was followed by shrieks, yells, and a heavy splashing in the water. Then came another, and another boom! and by three red lights at the mouth of the channel we could see that help was at hand, for they hung from the prow and masts of the prahu.
“Allah be praised!”
“Thank God! it is Kati.”
And as gun after gun was fired—clearing the water of our foes—the gallant little vessel ran up the channel. Then, lighting our torches, we clambered up the sides of the prahu, and were speedily embracing Kati and my brother.
“By Jingo! Claud, old fellow, how lucky! we were but just in the nick of time,” said Martin.
“Indeed, you have saved our lives by a minute,” replied I.
“It was the great guns, Claud. Did I not tell you they were meant for fighting, and at last we have proved it.”
“But where did you find the prahu, Martin?”
“Oh, riding smartly away in a cove, out of sight of that Dutch grab, which, by-the-by, Prabu, is upon the lookout for us. I wanted to fight her, but old Kati wouldn’t have it.”
“We will give her plenty of sea-room as soon as possible,” answered Prabu; and then, giving orders to run around the coast toward the province of Japan, at the eastern extremity of the island, we—that is, all that had been fighting upon the island—proceeded to regale ourselves with the best of Kati’s stores.