[00:00.05] Chapter 17.
[00:03.33] The boat's last trip.
[00:06.86] Our little boat was overloaded.
[00:11.36] Water was lapping over the side and every ripple of the current posed a danger to us.
[00:19.72] To make matters worse, the tide was going out, and the strong current was sweeping us towards Silver's men on the shore.
[00:29.54] I cannot keep her heading towards the stockade, I told the captain.
[00:34.37] Can't you row harder?
[00:37.97] Not without swamping the boat, he answered.
[00:44.92] Suddenly, Gray pointed to the ship in alarm.
[00:49.23] The gun, he cried.
[00:53.66] In our hurry, we'd completely forgotten about the ship's cannon.
[01:00.57] To our horror, we could see the five pirates on board pulling the cover off the gun.
[01:11.79] Hans was Flint's gunner, said Gray.
[01:16.99] By now, the current was weaker, and I could steer our boat towards the stockade.
[01:23.52] But this meant we were a sitting duck for our enemies on the Hispaniola.
[01:30.63] Who's the best shot here? asked the captain.
[01:35.53] Mr. Tlani by a long way, I said.
[01:39.92] Mr. Tlani, will you please pick off one of those men by the gun?
[01:45.87] Hans, if possible.
[01:50.34] Cool as steel.
[01:54.10] Tlani raised his musket, and we stopped rowing to let him take aim.
[02:01.47] By now, Hans was at the muzzle of the gun, ramming down the shot.
[02:09.45] Unluckily, just as Tlani fired, Hans stooped down and the shot missed him.
[02:18.36] One of the other pirates fell back with a cry.
[02:24.45] The cry was echoed by voices from the shore.
[02:29.00] Turning to look, we saw the pirates running out of the trees and scrambling into their boats.
[02:37.24] Here they come, sir, said Gray.
[02:41.28] Row for your lives then, said the captain.
[02:46.49] It's too late to worry about swamping her now.
[02:50.95] Unless we can get ashore, we're done for.
[03:00.28] Only one of the boats is coming after us, I said.
[03:06.34] The others must be going round the shore to cut us off at the stockade.
[03:14.12] It's not them I'm worried about, replied the captain, it's the cannon.
[03:23.53] We were now close to shore.
[03:27.41] 30 or 40 more strokes and we'd be there.
[03:33.94] But at that moment, we heard the boom of the gun and all ducked down in the boat.
[03:42.32] The shot passed just over our heads, so close that we felt the wind of it.
[03:50.59] No one was hurt, but in our haste to save ourselves, we had swamped the boat.
[03:59.37] We sank in 3 feet of water.
[04:03.57] All our supplies were lost and worse still, three of the five muskets we had on board.
[04:14.59] As we waited to the beach, we could hear voices getting closer from the woods.
[04:21.54] The pirates were trying to cut us off before we could reach the stockade.