Though bewildered by strange names and stranger words, he was alive to the significance of things being made easy "for the missus and the girls." So, even this gnarled sea-dog had a soft spot in his heart! On the very brink of the precipice his mind turned to his women-kind, just as De Sylva himself had whispered a last memory of his daughter to San Benavides when their common doom was seemingly unavoidable.
He would urge no more, since Coke was willing to fall in with his designs, but he could not forbear from clinching matters.
"I promise on my honor----" he began.
But the nearer surface of the sea flashed into a dazzling distinctness, and Coke dragged him down to the launch.

The cruiser had rounded Rat Island, and was devoting one sweeping glance eastward ere she sought her prey in creek or tortuous channel.

The men were summoned hastily.
Watts and Olsen had been warned to crouch behind the rocks on the crest, while those who remained near the launch were told to hide among the trees or crowd into the small cabin.

Movement of any kind was forbidden.

There was no knowing who might be astir on the hills, and a sharp eye might note the presence of foreigners in Cotton-Tree Bay.
Hozier had not forgotten the risk of detection from the shore, and the vessel was plentifully decorated with greenery.