Half a dozen men provided with well greased saws first landed under
Dick Balderson's command, and cleared a passage six feet wide to
the path; then the landing began in earnest. The guns were first put
on shore, and carried bodily to the path; the rest of the marines
and the bluejackets then landed, each carrying, in addition to his
arms and ammunition, a gun cartridge, or a box of rifle ammunition,
and a couple of empty sacks. As fast as they landed they proceeded
up the path. Dick Balderson led the way, and the men were directed
to step as closely as they could to each other. As they arrived near
the pool, each deposited his burden, and then went back to assist
to drag up the guns and carriages.
Scarcely a sound was heard during the operation. Their feet fell
noiselessly on the soft earth of the track, and no one a few yards
away would have guessed that a hundred and fifty men were engaged
in laborious toil. There was far more noise than there had been
the night before on board the prahus, an incessant jabber being
maintained, and voices rang high in excitement as the men discussed
the destruction of the town and the orders that had been received
for a portion of them to land on the following morning and take part
in the annihilation of the whites if they entered into the forest.
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