"Let them have a dose of shot," said Moss6.
Phil Danks levelled his gun at one of the swimmers and was about to fire, when Jack7 said, "Don't hit him, aim over his head, the noise will frighten them and it is time enough to kill when we are in danger."
"As you like," replied Phil, laughing, "but an odd nigger or two makes but little difference, and it would teach them not to interfere8 with white men in future."
He fired the gun, and the sound had a marvellous effect upon the blacks. Some of them dropped down on their knees on the beach, others turned and fled into the bush; as for the swimmer Phil had intended hitting, he dived and did not come up until he reached shallow water, when he scrambled9 out and ran after the others.
"It's strange they have never heard a gun fire before, this harbour is evidently unknown; we have discovered something during our trip, at any rate; I think we'll call it Redland Bay," said Phil.
Jack laughed, he thought it would be something to boast of on his return to England if a newly discovered harbour was named after him.
The blacks were evidently thoroughly10 frightened for they saw no more of them.
"It seems curious, they have no boats," said Hake Moss, "they can never have been out to sea. I expect always go round the place on land."
"They have canoes hidden somewhere, depend upon it," replied Phil. "There's plenty of fish here and they are generally clever fishermen."
The boats reached the farther side of the bay, and they spent a lively hour or two turning turtle. The huge ungainly creatures seemed to be too lazy to move, and their weight was enormous. Phil Danks said it was quite unusual to see them on the beach in the day time as they generally crawled out of the water at night. It was evidently a favourite breeding place, for the females were there in abundance, and thousands of eggs were to be found.
"The male turtle has more sense," said Phil, "I have never seen one out of the water."
To Jack Redland and his friend, the turning of turtle was a novel experience. Some of them were so heavy that it took their united efforts to throw them on their backs, and once in that position they were helpless. The silvery sand was soon covered with turned turtle, about fifty of them being at the mercy of their captors.
"What are we to do with the beggars?" asked Jack. "We cannot take the lot on board, it would swamp the boats."
"We will take as many as we require, and turn the remainder over again, if they are left on their backs, they will never get on their feet again, and will rot in the sun. Hundreds of them are destroyed in this way by natives and divers11 who seem to do it out of pure devilment."
"What a shame," said Harry12 Marton. "I say, Jack, some of our city aldermen would smack13 their lips over this sight."
"Yes, turtle is cheap enough here, whatever it may be in London," he replied laughing.
"See this fellow," said Danks, kicking one with his boot. "It's what they call a hawk14 bill, they are not fit to eat, but tortoise-shell is obtained from them and that makes them valuable. The others are green turtle. They are all right."
"How much do you think this one weighs?" asked Jack, pointing to a larger one than most of the others.
"It will not be far off three hundred pounds weight," answered Phil.
Jack gasped15 in astonishment16, he had no idea they were so heavy.
"The bulk of them average at least a couple of hundred pounds I should say," remarked Hake Moss.
It was no easy matter to get them into the boats, but they succeeded after some difficulty, and the dinghies were almost level with the water.
"We had better put all the turtle in one dinghy and tow her back," said Jack.
"A good idea, we will," replied Phil, and they set to work again until the boat was filled, they then turned the other turtles over, and were about to row back to the schooners18, when a screeching19 attracted their attention and they saw large flocks of birds hovering20 about the tops of the rocks.
"Melton birds and gulls," said Phil, "we may as well have some fresh eggs now we are about it; I reckon there'll be enough to satisfy a whole fleet over there," and he pointed21 to a long stretch of sand in which hundreds of them were settling.
It was a curious sight to see these thousands of birds on the sands, and they did not appear to be at all frightened of the visitors to their haunt. They got out of the dinghies again and walked towards them. On their approach a few of the birds rose and whirled around, uttering hoarse22 cries. But the greater number remained still on their nests, or walked slowly about amongst the stones.
Jack was amused at them, and as he walked, he had frequently to push them out of the way with his foot.
There were thousands of eggs, and they filled two large sacks with them, choosing those which were apparently23 freshly laid. It was not difficult to tell them as they were perfectly24 clean, and had a peculiar25 sticky feel, quite unlike the eggs that had been sat upon.
"Are the birds fit to eat?" asked Jack.
"Melton birds are not bad, the others are no good, a man must be fairly on the verge26 of starvation to tackle them," replied Moss.
"There does not appear to be much fear of starving here," laughed Jack.
"Perhaps not, but the diet would soon become monotonous," replied Harry.
It was time to return to the schooners, as they had been absent all day, and it was not advisable to leave them for a longtime. It was tedious work running out of the bay, and rather dangerous, as the tide was much lower and here and there sharp pieces of coral stood out of the water. Had one of the boats struck on such a projection27 it would have speedily ripped open the bottom, or the side.
Phil Danks, however, was a careful steerer and navigated28 them into the open sea, the dinghy in tow having one or two narrow escapes.
When the blacks saw the boat load of turtle, they gave vent4 to their joy and danced about the deck.
"You'll see how they gorge29
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