A FIRST BOAT-LOAD, 817

They were so astonished at the surprise of this, that, as they
told us afterwards, they resolved to go all on board again to their
ship, and let them know there that the meh were all murdered,
and the long-boat staved. Accordingly, they immediately launched
their boat again, and got all of them on board.

The captain was terribly amazed, and even confounded at this,
believing they would go on board the ship again, and set sail,
giving their comrades over for lost, and so he should still lose the
ship, which he was in hopes we should have recovered. But he
was quickly as much frighted the other way.

They had not been long put off with the boat, but we perceived
them all coming on shore again; but with this new measure in
their conduct, which it seems they consulted together upon—
namely, to leave three men in the boat, and the rest to go on
shore, and go up into the country to look for their fellows.

This was a great disappointment to us; for now we were at a
loss what to do: for our seizing those seven men on shore would
be no advantage to us if we let the boat escape; because they
would then row away to the ship, and then the rest of them would
be sure to weigh and set sail, and so our recovering the ship would
be lost. :

However, we had no remedy but to wait and see what the issue
of things might present. The seven men came on shore, and the
three who remained in the boat put her off to a good distance from
the shore, and came to an anchor to wait for them; so that it was
impossible for us to come at them in the boat.

Those that came on shore kept close together, marching towards
the top of the little hill under which my habitation lay; and we
could see them plainly, though they could not perceive us. We
could have been very glad they would have come nearer to us, so
that we might have fired at them, or that they would have gone
further off, that we might have come abroad.

But when they were come to the brow of the hill, where they
could see a great way into the valleys and woods which lay towards
the north-east part, and where the island lay lowest, they shouted
and hallooed till they were weary; and not caring, it seems, to
venture far from the shore, nor far from one another, they sat down