He yelled at the fishermen, "Boat ahoy! up anchor, you
lubbers, and scatter. Don't you see the blacks after you?"
The natives began paddling away as fast as they could towards the
nearest land, and Davy and Shay pulled after them; but the blacks
soon reached the shore, and, taking their spears, ran into the
nearest scrub. When the whaleboat grounded, there was not one of
them to be seen. Davy said:
"They are watching us not far off. You two keep a sharp look-out,
and if you see a black face fire at it. I am going to cut out the
fleet."
He rolled up his trousers, took a fishing line, waded out to the
canoes, and tied them together, one behind another, leaving a little
slack line between each of them. He then fastened one end of the
line to the whaleboat, shoved off, and sprang inside. The blacks
came out of the scrub, yelling and brandishing their spears, a few of
which they threw at the boat, but it was soon out of their reach.
Thus a great naval victory had been gained, and the whole of the
enemy's fleet captured without the loss of a man. Nothing like it
had been achieved since the days of the great Gulliver.
The two fishermen had taken no part in the naval operations, and when
the whaleboat returned with its train of canoes like the tail of a
kite, Davy administered a sharp reprimand.
"Why didn't you two lubbers keep your eyes skinned.
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