Quickly, yet quietly, our preparations for defence were made. The three-pounder was placed on its mounting amidships, which had not been removed since the gunnery practice in the Red Sea, and the Maxim, concealed behind a square of canvas, was mounted on its tripod so as to command the water between us and the shore, while each man placed his rifle, with charged magazine, on the deck within hand's reach. Hardly was this done than the natives' flotilla came within hailing distance. The warriors, decked in their barbaric finery, were grouped in the prow of their war canoes. Many of them bore livid scars, the legacy of many a tribal fight, and in their panoply a more repulsive and savage crowd I never wish to see. In that moment of actual danger I felt a peculiar trembling of the limbs and dry sensation in my throat. From the canoes I turned my eyes towards my companions. The crew seemed perfectly cool and determined, a circumstance that somewhat reassured me. Dr. Conolly was evidently labouring under strong physical excitement, as if anxious to begin the fray, while my father, though in no doubt as to the issue, was evidently reluctant to give the order to open fire on the yelling crowd of savages, who, brandishing their swords and spears, had drawn up within fifty yards, the paddles of their canoes resting motionless on the water. "Cannot we let rip at the vicious brutes?" asked the doctor. "They will be over the side in a minute if we don't." "Not if it can possibly be helped," replied my father. "Where's Herbert?" he added hurriedly. There was no sign of my uncle on deck, but, on being called, he replied, from below, "Wait half a second." Standing on the rail, my father held up a piece of brilliantly dyed cloth and a string of gaudy glass beads as a peace-offering to the aggressive natives, but the only reply was a shower of stones, hurled from slings of cocoa-cloth, that whizzed over our heads. It was only by quick descent that my father missed the unwelcome present. "Lie down, men!" he shouted, "and stand by with your arms!" Another volley of stones came from the natives, some striking the ship's side, others humming through the rigging. As I lay flat on the deck I saw a huge copper helmet emerge from the companion hatchway, and Uncle Herbert, dressed in a diver's suit, without, of course, the air tubes and lead sinkers, came on deck. Striding to the side, he faced the warlike mob, and instantly, to the accompaniment of a chorus of "Ohe! Owha!" the natives took up their paddles and made for the shore. "That's done it," laughed Uncle Herbert, removing the copper head-dress, which was rendering its wearer most uncomfortably hot, even in the slanting rays of the early morning sun.