They may come tonight, or they may come some time tomorrow, crawling
through the plantations behind the houses. At any rate, I will wait
here a day or two on the chance."
"Whom shall I send with the men, sir?"
"You had better send Parkhurst and Balderson; they will have more
authority among the men than the younger midshipmen. The men better
take three days' cooked provisions on shore and ten small kegs of
water, one for each hut. I will give Parkhurst his instructions
before he lands."
"Now, Mr. Parkhurst," he said, when the boat was lowered soon
after dark, "you must bear in mind that the greatest vigilance will
be necessary. Choose ten huts close together. One man in each hut
must be always awake; there must be no talking above a whisper;
and during the daytime no one must leave his hut on any account
whatever. After nightfall you and Mr. Balderson will move from hut
to hut, to see that a vigilant watch is kept. You must, of course,
take watch and watch, night and day. You must remember that not
only is it most important that a native should be captured, but
you must be on your guard against an attack on yourselves. It is
quite conceivable that a party may come down to see if there are
any of us in the village.
"In case of attack, you must gather in one hut, and fire three shots
as a signal to us; a musket shot will be fired in return.
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