Читать книгу Men Against the Sea онлайн

46 страница из 57

Eefow then asked: “You will sleep on shore to-night?”

Captain Bligh replied: “No, I never sleep away from my boat, but it may be that I shall leave a part of my men in the cavern.”

Our hope was, of course, that we could persuade the Indians of an intention to remain in the cove until the following day. I think there must have been a difference of opinion between the two chiefs as to when the attack upon us should be made, and that the elder one was for immediate action and Eefow for a night attack. They again conversed together in their figurative speech, of which we understood nothing.

Bligh said to us, very quietly: “Be ready, lads. If they make a hostile move, we will kill them both and fight our way to the launch.”

We were, of course, in the unfortunate position of not being able to begin the attack, and yet we were almost at the point where action, however desperate, would have seemed preferable to further delay.

Eefow now turned again to Nelson. “Tell your captain,” he said, “that we shall spend the night here. To-morrow I will go with you in your boat to Tongataboo.”