He had heard some of the men who had been out looking for Mok, and who had come back early that morning, tell about some shipwrecked people in a cave up the coast, and had heard all the plans which had been made for the attack upon them during the night.

He also knew why he and his fellows had been cooped up in the cave in the rock in which they lived, all that day, and had not been allowed to come down and do any work.
They were lying huddled in their little cave, feeling very hungry and miserable, and whispering together,--for if they spoke out or made any noise, one of the men below would be likely to fire a load of shot at them,--when suddenly a strange thing happened.
They heard a great roar like a thousand bulls, which came from the higher part of the ravine, and peeping out, they saw what seemed like a wall of rock stretching across the little valley.

But in a second they saw it was not rock--it was water, and before they could take two breaths it had reached them.

Then it passed on, and they saw only the surface of a furious and raging stream, the waves curling and dashing over each other, and reaching almost up to the floor of their cave.
They were so frightened that they pressed back as far as they could get, and even tried to climb up the sides of the rocky cavity, so fearful were they that the water would dash in upon them.

But the raging flood roared and surged outside, and none of it came into their cave.