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All heads turned, all conversations were interrupted; near the door there was a pushing among the guests, a crush as upon the quay of a seaport to witness the entry of a felucca laden with gold.
He heard a sound, almost as if a soft-footed animal were padding towards him. "My gentlemans, the Noobian peoples waitin' for what you say to the nice lady." Isaacson got up and looked over the rail. Below lay a white felucca containing two sailors, splendidly handsome black men, who were squatting on their haunches and smoking cigarettes.
That matter satisfactorily settled we determined upon leaving forthwith, since there was nothing to detain us; and it was then arranged, upon Juan's suggestion, that instead of making our way into town and boarding the felucca in harbour, we should avoid all risk of capture by taking our departure from a little cove about three miles to the westward of the castle, the felucca calling off the place about nine o'clock that night and sending her boat ashore for us.
It was considerably past midday when at length the whole of the Spaniards, together with their dead and wounded, were transferred to the felucca and dispatched to the shore, the Spanish captain being entrusted with the letter to the governor or commandant of the town; and then the English found time to look into their own affairs and take a meal.
Meanwhile, the felucca, slowly drifting down the lagoon, encountered at a distance of some fifty fathoms below the battery another obstacle, in the shape of a second chain, similar to the former, stretched across the channel, which rendered our further progress impossible until the barrier had been removed.
The Firebrand immediately sent the cutter on board full armed, with instructions to me to man the launch, and arm her with the boat gun, and then to send both boats to overhaul the felucca. I did so, standing in as quickly as the light air would take me, to support them; the felucca all this while sweeping in shore as fast as she could pull.
With the report an iron cannonball about five inches in diameter struck Hooja's dugout just above the water-line, tore a great splintering hole in its side, turned it over, and dumped its occupants into the sea. The four dugouts that had been abreast of Hooja had turned to intercept the leading felucca.
There was no barometer aboard the felucca, so I had nothing to guide me to the meaning of the weather portents, but I was convinced that something out of the common something more than a mere thunder-squall was brewing; and, if so, I should probably have my hands full in taking care of the felucca, with nobody to help me.
The others laughed, and, after a good deal of eager chattering on the subject, it was quite generally admitted that the stranger was a bona fide craft, of some species or another, though all agreed she was not a felucca, a bombarda, or a sparanara. All this time Ghita was thoughtful and silent; quite as much so, indeed, as Tommaso himself, though from a very different motive.
"I've come to ask you for a passage to Jamaica, as I prefer entering Port-Royal harbour in a respectable steady-going craft like yours, rather than in such a small cockle-shell as is my little pet there!" As he spoke he pointed with a smile and such a smile! how wrinkled and crinkled did his face become to the wicked-looking little felucca.
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