two o'clock p.m.
By the time that we were ready to make a start once more , however , the canoes had mustered in such numbers that even old Mildmay , who had hitherto poo-poohed my suggestions as to the possibility of a contemplated attack , began to look serious , and at last actually went the length of acknowledging that perhaps there might be mischief brewing after all . Saint Croix , however , treated the matter lightly , roundly asserting that the extraordinary gathering was due to nothing more serious than the native curiosity to behold the unwonted sight of a white man , and to watch our mysterious operations . There was undoubtedly a certain degree of probability about this suggestion , and most unfortunately we gave to it a larger share of credence than the event justified , shoving off from our sand-bank and resuming our surveying operations without first adopting those precautionary measures which prudence obviously dictated . At two o'clock p.m. , by which time we had passed over about three of the six miles which lay between the sand-bank and our supposed goal , the French boat being at the time about half a mile astern of us , a loud shouting arose from one of the largest canoes in the flotilla , her paddles were suddenly elevated in the air , and the whole fleet with one accord rapidly closed in between us and the Frenchmen , completely cutting us off the one from the other . `` Hillo ! '' exclaimed Mildmay , `` what 's the meaning of this ? Just clap a round-shot into the carronade there , you Tom , and pitch it well over the heads of those black rascals .