My party required no second order, but away we all scampered as fast as we could go, scattering from each other to distract our friends in their very unfriendly employment. "Oh, Mr Hurry, I bees hit, I bees hit?" sung out Tom Rockets. I expected to see him fall, but the shot only made him scamper on the faster. Our flight, of course, made Mr Heron fire at us more zealously, and we had to throw away all the things we had collected to escape with greater speed from his heroic fury. We took a course inland, and then turned back towards the place where we had landed. Happily we soon got among trees and rocks and broken walls, which much sheltered us, and Tom was the only man wounded. As soon as we got clear of the shot from the boat, I called a halt to examine his hurt. It was merely a slight flesh wound from a bullet in the leg, and a handkerchief bound round it enabled him to walk on. It was now time to return on board, so we made the best of our way to the boat, not without some considerable risk of being shot by our own sentries. On my stepping on deck I found several officers round the captain. Mr Heron was among them. "The rascally rebels can't stand us for a moment, sir," he was saying. "A whole gang of them hove in sight as I was pulling along-shore--a hundred at least--and stood hallooing to me and daring me to come after them. I let fly among them, sent them scampering away like a flock of sheep, knocking over a good dozen or more, I should think. It was rare fun, sir." "Very good fun for you, Mr Heron," said I, turning round; "but I beg to assure you, sir, that there were not a dozen of us altogether." "You! what do you mean?" he asked, with a look of surprise. "Why, that I was one of the body of supposed rebels, and though we shouted to you and begged you not to fire, you banged at us so furiously that we had to throw away a whole heap of things we had collected, and to run for our lives." Captain Hudson and the other officers laughed not a little at this exploit of Mr Heron's, for he was notorious for his boasting. He bore me a grudge about it ever after. "Well, Mr Hurry," said the captain good-naturedly, "you shall go on shore in the afternoon with Mr Heron, and try to recover some of your treasures."