Page:The crater; or, Vulcan's peak.djvu/285

 OR, VULCAN S PEAK. 45 charged, and the gun fired from the catamaran, on which it was mounted. No one was injured by this volley, but a famous noise was made; and noise passed for a good deal in the warfare of that day and region. It was now the turn of the colonists. At the first alarm everybody rushed to arms, and every post was manned, or womaned, in a minute. On the poop of the ship was planted one of the cannon, loaded with grape, and pointed so as to sweep the strait of the bridge. It is true, the dis tance was fully a mile, but Betts had elevated the gun with a view to its sending its missiles as far as was necessary. The other carronades on the Summit were pointed so as to sweep the portion of the hog pasture that was nearest, and which was now swarming with enemies. Waally, himself, was in front, and was evidently selecting a party that was to swim for the sandy beach, a sort of forlorn hope. No time was to be lost. Juno, a perfect heroine in her way, stood by the gun on the poop, while Dido was at those on the Summit, each brandishing, or blowing, a lighted match. The governor made the preconcerted sig nal to the last, and she applied the match. Away went the grape, rattling along the surface of the opposite rocks, and damaging at least a dozen of Waally s men. Three were killed outright, and the wounds of the rest were very serious. A yell followed, and a young chief rushed to wards the strait, with frantic cries, as if bent on leaping across the chasm. He was followed by a hundred war riors. Mark now made the signal to Juno. Not a mo ment was lost by the undaunted girl, who touched off her gun in the very nick of time. Down came the grape, hiss ing along the Reef; and, rebounding from its surface, away it leaped across the strait, flying through the thickest of the assailants. A dozen more suffered by that discharge. Waally now saw that a crisis was reached, and his efforts to recover the ground lost were worthy of his reputation. Calling to the swimmers, he succeeded in getting them down into the water in scores. The governor had ordered those near him to their sta tions. This took Jones and Bigelow on board the Abra ham, where two carronades were pointed through the stern ports, forming a battery to rake the hog pasture, which it