"To
begin with, we can't tell which of the three places they may choose
for landing at. We certainly cannot hurry through the woods anything
like so fast as they can row along the shore, so that would place us
at a disadvantage. In the second place, you know very well that we
can't rely upon our men defeating an equal number of these John Bulls;
and in the last place, we should not gain much if we did. We should
lose a tremendous lot of our men, and the schooner would go off and
fetch two or three more ships of war here, so that in the end they
must beat us. I think that there is no question that it will be better
for us to take our chances of escape now."
"Either the schooner will come back to-night and tow the boats of the
frigate round the other side of the island, or she will send a boat
with the news that she has found a landing-place, and then the frigate
will send all her boats. I don't think the attack will take place
to-night; but it may be made. It certainly won't if the schooner comes
round, for the wind is very light. She will not leave her anchorage
until it is quite dark; and by the time she has got round to the
frigate, and the boat's crews are ready to start, and they all get to
the back of the island, it will be morning. If they send a boat it
would reach the frigate after three hours' rowing; give them an hour
to get ready and start, and three hours to row back, so that brings it
to nearly the same thing.
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