The Press., 1894-06-14
grounds succesafully avoided the piclzets

grounds successfully avoided the plcketS and gained the house.
 Before he returned to his cutter he made known to his aunt and Hilda that he was daily expecting the arrival ot another steamer. and then a secret at tempt was to be made to capture the fort at the month of the river and to gain possession of the cotton known to be held in store there.
 If the other cutter arrived in time, just week from that night, under the cover of the darkness 200 men were to be landed on the ss ndy point; the pick cts were to be surprised, and then push was to be made for the fertilization of the enemy.
 Lieutenant Gasque, on account of his familiarity with the locality, was going to lead this expedition ill person, and the hope was to reach the fort before any alarm could be given and attack it in the rear. Meantime both cutters were to move up the bay, over the bar and attack the fertilization from the water side. Before this combined effort, l it was expected the enemy would be de- feated and the loaded barges known to be lying at anchor tFere secured. In case of any discovery of the move ment on the part of the enemy or any other occurrence likely to render the at tempt unsafe, Uncle Toby was, at an early hour on the appointed night, to | display a asignal light three times in | rapid succession from the extreme end of the sandy point and repeat it until | answered from the cutters ill the offing. | Otherwise the men would be landed at midnight. The expedition, if success l ful, was designed not only to give the enemy a crushing defeat. but to enable Lieutenant Gasque to remove the in- mates of the mansion house to safer i retreat.
 The long and anxious week drew to close. Late in the evening of the sixth day Uncle Toby returned from rec onnoitering trip up in the region of the Confederate fort, and with consterna- ton depicted upon his sable face sought an interview with his mistress.
 "Missus Elm m'ly," he said, "dere's a pow 'ful lot of new sojers come down to de fort, an dey be doubljn de pickets long de shoar. an 1 dunno webber it hab jes happ'n so or dey be 'spectin dis hyar expedishun ob Massa Ralph.''
 This information filled Mrs. Hatha way with alarm, and with every confi- dence in Tobe she hastened to consult | with him as to the course of action winch, under the existing circumstances, seemed wisest.
 ''I 'spects,'' said he ruefully, "dat we better hab Ya1ler Jake to gib de sig nal tomorrer night from de pint in case it be onsafe fer Massa Ralph to Ian, while go off to de cutt'r tonight an quaint massa wib de circumstances. ; It seemed to be the only course left open to them, so Mrs. Hathaway, after consulting with Hilda, called in Yel- low Jake, another household servant, and thoroughly instructed him in the part he was to perform. Then Tobe, with no thought of the miscarrying of his plan, left the mansion for his self imposed trip to the cutter.
 l Early the next afternoon Jake, with small lantern snugly hid under his coarse jacket, left the house and en- tered the woods to the west of the plan tation, intending to work his way slowly around to the vicinity of the | fort, and the moment he discovered any suspicious movement on the part of the enemy hasten back to the sandy point, in readiness to give, at the proper hour, the warning signal to the vessels down the harbor.
 As hour after hour of the afternoon wore away, the ladies at Oak Bluffs grew more hopeful. There had been