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.Then without a word to each other they ran for the path which led up Mount Misery.They climbed and kicked each other, hurried and tripped, tumbled and rose again, barked shins and knees and shoulders, exchanged excited opinions and ambitions, and gained the open space above the tree line, from whence they could look down on Leeward.But long before they reached their vantage point they saw the smoke, rising above the remains of Sandy Point.From the ledge itself the erstwhile town made a sad picture, somehow more horrible than Edward remembered the same site after the hurricane.For this day the sea was calm, the breeze light, and Sandy Point had been more than an accumulation of huts.But now they all burned, individually, to reveal the Dons' attention to detail, and generally, as the smoke from each blazing roof merged into the smoke from the next blazing roof, as the pillars supporting the porch of Government House crashed outwards, and the roof itself fell in, through the bedrooms and into the chamber where Tom Warner had entertained his guests.But the desolation was not confined to the town; behind it the tobacco plantations and the corn fields were flattened areas of dusty earth.And still the horizon was dotted with sails and pennants and flags, with mahogany brown hills and curling white wakes, as the fleet gathered way before the gentle southerly breezePhilip knelt beside his brother.'By all the rules of warfare we can claim a victory, Edward.You can claim a victory.We are left in possession of the field.''Aye.' Edward glanced at the awestruck Irishmen.'Our misfortune is, Philip, that there are no rules on St Kitts.We make them up as we go along.'Even from a hundred yards away, the heat clung to the air; the smoke had mostly died by now, and only the glowing ashes remained.Occasionally there was a rumble as a pillar or a roof, made from greener timbers than the rest, came crashing down to send a shower of sparks upwards.‘It'll have cooled by morning,' Edward said.'Well get to work then.''To work?' Connor demanded.'And what work were ye considering, Ted?"'You'd spend the rest of your lives lying on the sand?""There'll be a ship along,' O'Reilly said.'An Englishman or a Dutchman.Well beg passage on that'"You'll desert the colony?"'Colony? For Christ's sake.' O'Reilly removed his helmet and unbuckled his cuirass.Here was the problem; beside his armour he was carefully laying his brace of pistols and his sword.And most of his companions still wore theirs.'And for the meantime,' Connor said.'We'd best come to an accommodation.We're entitled to relax and enjoy ourselves.'Another of those occasions he had long known would come.He had Philip by his side, but there were seventeen men opposed to them.Aline and Meg and Susan stood with the children, a little to one side.They watched, and waited, and endeavoured to preserve their composure.The Carib girls had gone to see what had become of the fish nets.'What sort of an accommodation were you thinking of, Brian?" Edward said quietly.'Well, our creature comforts, mostly, Ted,' O'Reilly said.'Now we no longer have the need of a leader, we're flunking of a democratic society, like.Share and share alike.Now, there's nineteen of us, all told, and there's seven women.''Saving that Susan ain't good for nothing,' Connor pointed out.'Aye, so it really works out to one woman to every three and a half men.But I've a better idea, Ted, lad.Your brother ain't hardly even a half, yet, and ye've no taste for the flesh, now have ye? In any event, the brat in Sue's belly is likely yours, by all accounts.So well let ye take care of her, and the rest of us will take care of the others, which’ll give us better than three to one.We'll work it out''No,' Meg Plummer said.'Edward, you cannot permit this.'Aline said nothing; she breathed deeply and there were pink spots on her cheeks.'And if I'd not agree?" Edward demanded.‘Why, then, lad, 'tis sorry we'll be, to be sure, but well be inclined to take what we require.Ye'll not draw a sword against me, Ted.We'll have your throat cut before ye can get it clear of your scabbard.''For God's sake,' Susan shouted.'Can ye never stop fighting? Where would ye be without Ted? I’ll tell ye.Ye'd be lying on that beach, bits of ye.''Sure, and we know that, Sue,' O'Reilly agreed.'So we're content to leave him be, and leave ye be as well.All we're claiming is our just rights as men.Tis what we fought for.Just as, make no mistake, he fought the Dons not for us, but for this island.Well, he can have it, after we're gone.Now then, Ted, lad, take Sue and your brother and make tracks into that forest'Edward hesitated, glancing at Philip.‘You cannot leave Aline and me to these men, Mr Warner,' Meg begged.'Be off wi' ye,' O'Reilly growled 'Be off wi' ye, before I changes my.'The phssst cut the afternoon air like a physical impact.The shaft slammed into O'Reilly’s chest with such force it knocked him off his feet, reducing his words to a bloody froth.'By Christ' Connor yelled, reaching for his sword, to be halted by another singing arrow which sliced into his thigh.'You stop,' Yarico called from the bushes.‘I kill you all.'The Irishmen gazed at the trees, and waited; they knew too much of her accuracy.O'Reilly tried to sit up, and fell back, coughing once again.Susan hurried forward to kneel beside him.'God's truth,' she whispered.'Hell not survive.'‘You come,' Yarico called.'You come, if you want We go.You come, Ed-ward?’‘I come,' Edward said.' 'Tis sorry I am about this, Brian Connor, but you brought it on yourself.Get that arrow out and patch up the blood, and you'll be all right Aline.Meg.You'll bring the children.'He drew his pistols, and Philip followed his example, and they slowly withdrew up the beach, while the Irishmen gazed after them and muttered to each other and O'Reilly coughed his last on the sand, the arrow sticking skywards from his chest like an avenging finger.After a moment's hesitation, Susan laid his head on the sand and followed the other women.Yarico stood at the edge of the trees, with her three companions.‘I owe you my life,' Edward said.'And not for the first time.I wish I could understand you, Yarico.'She tossed her head.'Yarico War-nah,' she reminded hirn.'Ed-ward War-nah.Philip War-nah.' She smiled at her son.'Tom War-nah.' She extended her arms to embrace the entire island.'War-nah land.'The Irish knew too much about the cave and the defences of the windward coast Edward preferred to make camp on the upper slopes of Mount Misery, from whence they could command both coasts and even the sea beyond, and where there was a spring they could use for fresh water.Food remained a problem, which necessitated a trek down to the beach every day to clear the nets and to search for fruit.But for this he was grateful.It was necessary to keep occupied, or he had no doubt that the women would in time become quite as unruly as the men had been.And soon enough they relaxed most of their precautions.The Irish never came to Windward.They never seemed to go anywhere, but camped on the beach beside the burnt out ruin of Sandy Point, fishing where they could, living on the coconuts which grew in profusion along the shore.O'Reilly had died, and Connor was not quite in the same mould.Lacking leadership, they were content to lie on the beach for the rest of their lives, if need be.For the rest of their lives
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