Mr. Lang rushed out from behind our safe corner, and tried to wing her afore she could get into safety, and we followed ’im and tried a few long shots from the 12-pounder; but even I couldn’t ’it anything under them conditions, especially as they glared their search-lights in our faces and commenced firing pretty briskly at us with small guns from the shore. So we goes back round our corner, more quickly than we came out, and whilst we were turning they ’it us once or twice, smashing our whaler, and a splinter of shell or wood knocked over poor Rogers, who was standing by. We thought ’e was only stunned, but ’e was dead as a door-nail, and it ’urt us to think we’d chaffed ’im so unmerciful, and we covered ’im up and put ’im down below. We waited about till it was light enough to see what ’ad ’appened with our little trap, and then went close inshore again. Well, there was a ’orrid sight, or joyful sight, whichever way you takes it, for them two torpedo-boats were piled up against the rocks all battered to pieces, one in ’alf and the other bottom up, a-smashing up agin the bottom of the cliff. There wasn’t a soul to be seen; and it was well-nigh hopeless, for the cliffs rose straight up from the sea, and no monkey could ’ave climbed them, let alone a Chinaman, so we knew they must have all been drowned. Poor old Rogers would have a lot of them heathen to keep him company. The two lanterns we’d left in the boats were still burning as innercent as you like, looking yellow in the hazy light of morning. *CHAPTER XV* *Mr. Midshipman Glover Tells how he was Wounded* Lang to the Rescue—In Disgrace—We Hate Dr. Fox Pat Jones, the quarter-master, has told you all the exciting things that happened the night we reached the island, and how we had bagged three of the four torpedo-boats which came out, with only the loss of poor Rogers. Both Tommy Toddles and myself were jolly down in our luck at not being allowed to go away in the whaler, and, like the silly idiots we were, we did not take the opportunity of getting a little sleep. The result was, that when daylight came we were both so sleepy, we could hardly stand upright or keep our eyes open. Mr. Lang had brought "No. 2" close in abreast of the wreck of the Chinese torpedo-boats, and ordered Mr. Parker to recover his two Berthon boats. As you know, our whaler had been smashed by the same shell that had killed poor Rogers, so she was useless, and suddenly I heard Mr. Parker singing out to me to clear away the dinghy and get her into the water. "Take four hands with you; put one in each of the Berthon boats, and then tow them back," were his orders, "and take care you don’t capsize this time, or back you go to the _Laird_."