EXPECTATION 265 -

The work of setting up the carriages has advanced
rapidly. The number of missiles is now fifty. If Ker
Karraje finds it necessary to defend Backcup, three or four
will be sufficient to secure the island against approach,
provided that they cover the zone on which no ship can
enter without being destroyed.

I think the pirates will put Backcup in a state of defence
when they have thought out the situation in this way :—

“Tf the appearance of the Sword in the lagoon was only
the result of chance, our situation is unchanged, and no
power, not even England, will think of looking for the
missing boat underneath this island. If, on the other hand,
they have learnt, through some unaccountable discovery
that Backcup has become Ker Karraje’s hiding-place, and
if the sending of the Sword was a first attempt against
the island, a second, under different conditions, must be
expected—either a bombardment or an attempt to land.
Then before we leave Backcup and carry away our wealth,
the Roch Fulgurator must be employed in the defence.”

In my opinion, this reasoning may even be carried farther,
and the scoundrels will say to themselves :—

Is there any connection between this discovery, however
it has been made, and the double abduction from Health-
ful House? Do they know that Roch and his keeper are
confined in Backcup? Is it known that the seizure was
effected by Ker Karraje? Have the Americans, English,
French, Germans, Russians, any idea that every attack on
the island is doomed to failure ?

However, supposing all that is known, no matter how