The night passed without incident.The colonists were on the qui vive, and did not leave their post at the Chimneys.The pirates, on their side, did not appear to have made any attempt to land.Since the last shots fired at Ayrton not a report, not even a sound, had betrayed the presence of the brig in the neighborhood of the island.It might have been fancied that she had weighed anchor, thinking that she had to deal with her match, and had left the coast.
But it was no such thing, and when day began to dawn the settlers could see a confused mass through the morning mist.It was the "Speedy.""These, my friends," said the engineer, "are the arrangements which appear to me best to make before the fog completely clears away.It hides us from the eyes of the pirates, and we can act without attracting their attention.The most important thing is, that the convicts should believe that the inhabitants of the island are numerous, and consequently capable of resisting them.I therefore propose that we divide into three parties.
The first of which shall be posted at the Chimneys, the second at the mouth of the Mercy.As to the third, I think it would be best to place it on the islet, so as to prevent, or at all events delay, any attempt at landing.We have the use of two rifles and four muskets.Each of us will be armed, and, as we are amply provided with powder and shot, we need not spare our fire.
We have nothing to fear from the muskets nor even from the guns of the brig.What can they do against these rocks? And, as we shall not fire from the windows of Granite House, the pirates will not think of causing irreparable damage by throwing shell against it.What is to be feared is, the necessity of meeting hand-to-hand, since the convicts have numbers on their side.We must therefore try to prevent them from landing, but without discovering ourselves.Therefore, do not economize the ammunition.Fire often, but with a sure aim.We have each eight or ten enemies to kill, and they must be killed!"Cyrus Harding had clearly represented their situation, although he spoke in the calmest voice, as if it was a question of directing a piece of work and not ordering a battle.His companions approved these arrangements without even uttering a word.There was nothing more to be done but for each to take his place before the fog should be completely dissipated.Neb and Pencroft immediately ascended to Granite House and brought back a sufficient quantity of ammunition.Gideon Spilett and Ayrton, both very good marksmen, were armed with the two rifles, which carried nearly a mile.
The four other muskets were divided among Harding, Neb, Pencroft, and Herbert.
The posts were arranged in the following manner:--Cyrus Harding and Herbert remained in ambush at the Chimneys, thus commanding the shore to the foot of Granite House.
Gideon Spilett and Neb crouched among the rocks at the mouth of the Mercy, from which the drawbridges had been raised, so as to prevent any one from crossing in a boat or landing on the opposite shore.
As to Ayrton and Pencroft, they shoved off in the boat, and prepared to cross the channel and to take up two separate stations on the islet.In this way, shots being fired from four different points at once, the convicts would be led to believe that the island was both largely peopled and strongly defended.
In the event of a landing being effected without their having been able to prevent it, and also if they saw that they were on the point of being cut off by the brig's boat, Ayrton and Pencroft were to return in their boat to the shore and proceed towards the threatened spot.
Before starting to occupy their posts, the colonists for the last time wrung each other's hands.
Pencroft succeeded in controlling himself sufficiently to suppress his emotion when he embraced Herbert, his boy! and then they separated.
In a few moments Harding and Herbert on one side, the reporter and Neb on the other, had disappeared behind the rocks, and five minutes later Ayrton and Pencroft, having without difficulty crossed the channel, disembarked on the islet and concealed themselves in the clefts of its eastern shore.
None of them could have been seen, for they themselves could scarcely distinguish the brig in the fog.
It was half-past six in the morning.
Soon the fog began to clear away, and the topmasts of the brig issued from the vapor.For some minutes great masses rolled over the surface of the sea, then a breeze sprang up, which rapidly dispelled the mist.
The "Speedy" now appeared in full view, with a spring on her cable, her head to the north, presenting her larboard side to the island.Just as Harding had calculated, she was not more than a mile and a quarter from the coast.
The sinister black flag floated from the peak.
The engineer, with his telescope, could see that the four guns on board were pointed at the island.They were evidently ready to fire at a moment's notice.
In the meanwhile the "Speedy" remained silent.About thirty pirates could be seen moving on the deck.A few more on the poop; two others posted in the shrouds, and armed with spyglasses, were attentively surveying the island.
