This was only one of many similar scenes which Jack witnessed while engaged in the suppression of the slave-trade.
Chapter Twelve.
The Look-out Party attacked—Repulse and Flight of the Arabs—Securing the Prisoners—A Night on the Beach—Rejoin the Ship—Burning of the Dhow—Arabs attempt to escape to the Mainland, but fall Victims to Sharks—Encounter with another Slave Caravan—Return to the Ship.
Tom Rogers and Gerald had watched the approach of the Arab slave-dealers to the foot of the hill.
“You may howl as you like, my boys,” cried Gerald, “but if you attempt to climb up here, you will be sent tumbling down again faster than you came up.” Tom, meantime, was keeping an eye on the movements of the Arabs, and the moment he saw them lift their matchlocks, he shouted to his men to jump down into one of the hollows, he himself setting the example; so that the bullets either flew over their heads, or struck the rocks behind which they were concealed.
“The rascals think they’ve blown us off the face of the earth,” said Tom, who had found a spot with a bush through which he could thrust his telescope and yet remain perfectly sheltered behind the rock; “they’re looking about them, wondering where we’ve gone to. If we had but a few more muskets, we could pick off every one of them.”
Still the Arabs showed no inclination to climb the face of the hill. Had the midshipmen and their party remained concealed, possibly the slave-dealers might have taken their departure inland; but Gerald, forgetting the danger they were in, could not resist jumping up on the top of the rock, and shouting out in a tone of derision at their foes. Tom, seeing the Arabs about to take aim at him, pulled him down just at the moment that a whole volley of shot came whizzing through the air.
“You may fire away as much as you like,” cried Desmond, “but you won’t hurt us.”