"I'll go after your half-deader," said Evans. "One of you come with me in case he can't walk." But he was back empty-handed in a quarter of an hour. "Gone?" asked Blair, with a pinched face. "He's dead, but you didn't kill him. Some one came after you and split his head with an axe." "Ah!" said Blair gloomily, "these others will fare the same unless we see to it. We'll go to them, Evans, in case any of our brown friends come prowling round." But the brown men were much too busy, and we may drop more of a veil over their proceedings than the night did. Big fires were glowing along the beach before it was dark, and no brown man came up the hill that night. They went along to the temporary hospital Evans had made among the rocks. The beds consisted of the softest patches of ground he could find, and the only furnishings were the patients. He had hastily bandaged their wounds, however, and all, except the yellow men, were fairly cheerful. Stuart, indeed, became almost hilarious at sight of Blair as an invalid also. "I was thinking ill of myself for getting hit," he said; "but since you're in the same boat I feel better." "Glad to be of use," said Blair, "and very thankful things are no worse. They might have been. There were more of them than I expected, and they fought harder than their cause justified." "Even rats will fight in a corner," said Evans. Just before dark Captain Cathie came panting in on them, in the best of spirits and with many rough words for the road. He had half a dozen of his men with him, and they brought an ample supply of food. "Well, captain, how have things gone with you?" "We mustn't complain, sir. He'd brought a gun along as heavy as ours and we had a fine set-to. But with our steam we had the weather hand all the time and just waltzed round him. He did his best to board, but we thought differently." "And how did it end? Where is he now?" Captain Cathie jabbed his finger downwards two or three times in eloquent silence. "Sunk?" "Sunk with all aboard, big gun and all. No more trouble from that quarter. We plugged him more than once below the water-line and we saw he was settling down. But it came sudden at the end." "And you were not able to save any of them?" "We were not"--said Cathie emphatically, and after a moment's pause added--"and what on earth would we have done with 'em if we had?" "We have about a dozen on our hands here--all wounded." "Humph!" grunted Cathie. "We couldn't very well kill them in cold blood, you see." "And what'll you do with 'em, Mr. Blair?" "I don't know yet. We'll have to think that over. Did you send word to the ladies how things had gone all round?" "I went over myself with young Irvine and told 'em all about it. They were all very thankful it was over and no more harm done." "And how is the _Torch_?"