midday
They were , like all New Britain canoes , very low down in the water , which , together with our own troubles when we were in the tide rip , had prevented our seeing them long before . `` Lucky we have not wasted any of our cartridges '' said Yorke grimly ; `` we 'll give them all the fight they want . But let them get closer , while we head back for the ships . We _ must _ get out of this current -- we can lick the niggers easy enough ; but if we get into that tide-rip again , we 'll be carried out of sight of the brigantine by midday . '' Plunging our paddles into the water , we sent our bamboo craft along till we were in absolute safety as far as the tide-rip was concerned . Then Yorke laid down his paddle . `` We 're all right now , Drake ; and now we 'll give these man-chawing beggars a bit of a surprise .