But that will be of no use to us." Upon the day of their arrival at the island, a native sailing boat was seen to pass across the mouth of the bay.

When half across, she suddenly tacked round and sailed back in the direction from which she had come.
Before proceeding to lighten the ship, the captain had taken steps to put himself in a position of defence.

For some distance along the centre of the bay the ground rose abruptly, at a distance of some thirty yards from the shore, forming a sort of natural terrace.

Behind this a steep hill rose.

The terrace, which was forty feet above the water level, extended for about a hundred yards, when the ground on either side of the plateau dropped away, as steeply as in front.
The guns were the first things taken out of the ship, and, regardless of the remonstrances of the passengers at what they considered to be a waste of time, Captain Thompson had the whole of them taken up on the terrace.