"
"I have heard nothing," the officer said; "but you might hear sounds
down there, coming along on the water, before I do. I will go down to
the water's edge, and listen."
He did so, and was at once convinced that the man's ears had not
deceived him. Although the night was perfectly still, and not a breath
of wind was stirring, he heard a low rustling sound, like that of the
wind passing through the dried leaves of a forest, in autumn.
"You are right, Johnson, there is something going on out at sea,
beyond the mouth of the bay. I will call the captain, at once."
Captain Thompson, on being aroused, also went down to the waterside to
listen; and at once ordered the whole party to get under arms. He
requested Mr. Barlow, the young lieutenant in charge of the troops, to
place half his men across each end of the plateau. The back was
defended by a cliff, which rose almost perpendicularly from it to a
height of some hundred feet; the plateau being some thirty yards, in
depth, from the sea face to its foot. The male passengers were
requested to divide themselves into two parties, and to join the
soldiers in defending the position against flank attacks. The guns
were all loaded, and the sailors then set to work dragging up bales of
goods from below, and placing them so as to form a sort of breastwork
before the guns along the sea face.
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