From Cotton-Tree
Bay, to which the catamarans had brought the small force, it was barely
a mile to the village, convict settlement, and citadel. Some few
lights twinkling near the shore showed the exact whereabouts of the
inhabited section. Another mile away to the right lay Fort San
Antonio, which housed the main body of troops. Watch-fires burning on
South Point, whence came the shells that disabled the _Andromeda_,
revealed the presence of soldiers in that neighborhood. De Sylva
explained that a paved road ran straight from the town and
landing-place to the hamlet of Sueste and an important plantation of
cocoanuts and other fruit-bearing trees that adjoined South Point. It
was inadvisable to strike into that road immediately. A little more to
the right there was a track leading to the Curral, or stockyard. If
they headed for the latter place the men could obtain some stout
cudgels. The convict peons in charge of the cattle should be
overpowered and bound, thus preventing them from giving an alarm, and
it was also possible to avoid the inhabited hillside overlooking the
main anchorage until they were close to the citadel. Then, crossing
the fort road, they would advance boldly to the enemy's stronghold,
first making sure that the launch was moored in her accustomed station
in the roadstead beneath the walls.
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