The midshipmen hastened to tell Commander Tazewell the thrilling news of the attack. They found him, however, on the porch fully dressed together with the consul and his daughters.
“I feel terribly concerned over Judge Lindsay,” Mr. Lee exclaimed while all listened tensely to the fearful sounds of combat coming so distinctly through the otherwise quiet night. The refugees huddling in the bush and among the palm groves were all hushed to silence, harking to the unequal battle raging nearly a mile away. “He refused to leave his house to come to us. He thought his belongings were more precious than his life, and feared if he left his house it would be looted and destroyed.”
There was no sleep for those at the American consulate that night. The heavy firing was not, however, of long duration. Within the hour it died away, except for an occasional shot. Then fires appeared at many points along the entire water-front of Ukula. The rebels were burning the houses of the loyal natives.
The guarding sailors were alert, and although war parties appeared and came so near as to be challenged by the outposts, they stopped only to parley, and explained that the papalangi were safe and would not be attacked. They were seeking only the followers of Panu-Mafili.
The light of day revealed much of Ukula in ruins. Stores and houses owned by Americans and English had all been looted and the houses of the loyal natives were in ashes.
Half-naked warriors, their hands and faces smeared with the life blood of their victims, their eyes rolling wildly in savage ecstasy, paraded the streets carrying on bamboo poles the gory heads of their victims.
The Matautu and the Matafeli districts of the town were undisturbed. In the latter place lived the Herzovinian merchants and their consul. The Herzovinian sailors prevented the war parties from entering the Matafeli district. Over five thousand warriors, unrestrained and unorganized, roamed the town and surrounding country, pillaging and firing their guns in savage license.
Many shots had passed very close to those within the American lines, and as the morning progressed the desultory firing became more frequent and dangerous. Several of the native refugees had been hit by stray bullets.
While at breakfast news came from the British ship by signal that many refugees from the battle-field had swum off to the ships and been received on board; among them the king Panu-Mafili and Chief Tuamana.
An hour later Mary Hamilton burst in upon Mr. Lee excitedly with the startling intelligence that Judge Lindsay in his big house on the Malima road was besieged by a war party under Chief Tuatele, and that the excited natives were swearing vengeance upon the judge. Mary had stolen through the pickets during the night and had listened, hidden close to the camp of the rebels at the cross road leading to the judge’s residence.