At this, Nunez stepped forward, his face red with passion.  “Look here, you Yankee thief,” he cried, “we’ll give you just one minute to come out from behind that pile of bags.  If you don’t come, we’ll—­”

But if he said any more, Captain Horn did not hear it, for at that moment Burke cried:  “Drop, captain!” And the captain dropped.

Stung by the insult he had received, and unable to resist the temptation of putting an end to the discussion by shooting Captain Horn, Cardatas raised his rifle to his shoulder, and almost in the same instant that the captain’s body disappeared behind the barrier, he fired.  But the bullet had scarcely left his barrel when another ball, from Shirley’s gun, struck Cardatas under his uplifted left arm, and stretched him on the sand.

A shock ran through the attacking party, and instinctively they retreated several yards.  So suddenly had they lost their leader that, for a few moments, they did not seem to understand the situation.  But, on a shout from one of them to look out for themselves, every man dropped flat upon the beach, behind a low bank of sand scarcely a foot high.  This was not much protection, but it was better than standing up as marks for the rifles behind the barrier.

The men from the Arato were very much surprised by what had happened.  They had expected to have an easy job with the crew of the Miranda.  As soon as the sailor Sanchez had seen the stranded brig, he had recognized her, and Cardatas, as well as the rest of them, had thought that there would be nothing to do but to go on shore with a party of well-armed men, and possess themselves of whatever treasure she had brought to this deserted coast.  But to find her crew strongly intrenched and armed had very much amazed them.

Nunez’s anger had disappeared, and his accustomed shrewdness had taken its place, for he now saw that very serious business was before them.  He was not much of a soldier, but he knew enough to understand that in the plan proposed by Cardatas lay their only hope of success.  It would be ridiculous to lie there and waste their ammunition on that wall of bags.  He was lying behind the others, and raised his head just enough to tell them what they should do.

“We must get into their rear,” he said.  “We must creep along the sand until we reach those bushes up there, and then we can get behind them.  I’ll go first, and you can follow me.”

At, this, he began to work himself along the beach, somewhat after the fashion of an earthworm.  But the men paid no attention to him.  There was little discipline among them, and they had no respect for the horse-dealer as a commander, so they remained on the sands, eagerly talking among themselves.  Some of them were frightened, and favored a rush for the boats.  But this advice brought down curses from the others.  What were three men to nine, that they should run away?

Burke now became tired of waiting to see what would happen next, and putting his hat on a little stick, he raised it a short distance above the breastwork.  Instantly one of the more excitable men from the Arato fired at it.