Barely a minute had elapsed since they were in the throes of a struggle
which promised to be the last act of a tragedy. The ship was then
over-run by a horde of howling savages, maddened by the desperate
resistance offered by the defenders, and ruthless as wolves in their
lust for destruction. Now, the _Kansas_ was clear of every bedaubed
Alaculof, save the many who cumbered the decks, either dead or so
seriously wounded that they could not move. These men were so near
akin to animals, that this condition implied ultimate collapse save in
a few instances of fractured skulls and broken limbs. From the final
stage of a hopeless butchery the survivors of the ship's company were
suddenly transferred to a position of reasonable security. It was not
that the arrival of the ship's boats meant such an accession of
fighting strength that the Alaculofs could not have made sure of
victory. Gray and his companions were badly armed. The Indians
remaining in the canoes could have pelted them to shreds in a few
minutes. Even those on the ship had the power to resist any attempt by
the newcomers to gain the decks.
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