I am glad to hear that none of the officers
are dangerously wounded."
"Parkhurst had his forearm laid open with a cut from a kris, and
Balderson had one of their spears through his ear. Dr. Horsley said
if it had been half an inch more to the left, it would probably
have killed him. Lieutenant Somers of the marines is more badly
hurt, a spear having gone through the thigh. It cut an artery.
Luckily the doctor was close to him at the moment, and clapped on
a tourniquet, and then cut down to the artery and tied it. As he
says, 'A delay of two minutes, and it would have been all up with
the young fellow.' Are the boats safe, sir?"
"Yes, the boat keepers pushed off a little way when the firing
began in the forest, and when they heard the shouts of a large party
of the enemy coming along the path, they went out almost into the
middle of the creek; and it was well they did, for many of the
Malays came down through the path you cut, and would have riddled
them with their spears had they been within reach. The boat keepers
acted very wisely; all of them got into the gig and towed the other
boats astern, so that if the Malays came along, either in their
prahus or in their boats, they could have cut them adrift and made
a race of it down to the ship.
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