The twelve boats that escaped from the sea fight never reached home again. They had no compass to steer by, and the wind and tide drove them to a far-off shore, where no man had ever been. Here they settled, just as the island men had done before, and grew into a new tribe and people. CHAPTER XX THE SEA ROVERS MOR and his men at last made up their minds to sail out across the Great Water and see what was on the other side. The island people were very strong and brave, and thought it much better to fight and have adventures, than to stay at home in peace all the time. So they made ready a fleet of twenty large boats, each one big enough to hold forty men, and one bright morning, with the wind blowing straight across the water, they raised their coloured sails, red, and blue, and yellow, and set out. Each man carried with him a wicker shield, covered with tough hide, which he hung over the side of the boat within easy reach of where he sat at his oar. Many wore rings of gold and copper and tin about their arms. Their caps were made of leather, with the wings of birds in them, one on each side. They carried bows and arrows, long spears with points of polished flint, or copper, and stone axes and knives. Some of the chiefs had axes with heads of copper. They took water with them in great bottles made of the skins of animals, and plenty of smoked meat and fish. When they set sail, hundreds came down to the shore to see them off. Mor, a big strong man, almost a giant, waved his glittering copper axe in farewell, then turned his eyes toward the sea and led his little fleet out of the bay on its journey. For a day and a night they sailed without seeing anything but a few birds. Some of the men, when they saw nothing but the ocean in every direction, as far as the eye could reach, were frightened and wanted to turn back, but Mor told them to wait, that they would soon reach land. On the afternoon of the second day one of the men on watch gave a cry, and soon they saw stretching along the horizon a thin grey line of shore. A little later they could make out hills, and clumps of trees, and the smoke from a village. It was evening and the people of the village were cooking supper about their fires. Mor led his boats into a little cove some distance away, and as soon as they grounded on the sand he and his men sprang ashore. Five men were left in each boat, to guard it, and the others, nearly seven hundred in all, with Mor at their head, went to attack the village. The village men had sprung for their bows and spears as soon as they saw Mor's ships nearing the land, and were now drawn up in front of the village, ready to defend it. The two sides rushed at each other, shouting fierce cries. A shower of arrows and stones met Mor and his men, but the tough hides of their shields kept them from being much hurt, and not many were lost. The village people, who did not have any shields, suffered very much, and many of them fell.