Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1897-07-01

thG nESt tof1H tAGtmsthtu EI8uh.
'He wouldn't fire any more build
ings this year Well. Pou.p, what
is it =
| dat is what dis chlla don I
know, answered Pomp. Who trem-
bled so thas he coald hardly hold
his gun. Dey is jabberin 80 down
by de river. an iey. is brinRins ar
q heap Oh stuff Make annnder big
| fire, ! spec
Don't be frightened. pomp, they
can't burn the castle. said Frank.
Keep sour eyes open. and il yori
can pepper one of those red imps,
do it,
T 'Golly, ! will = muttered the ne
gro, marching eff.
Frank, said Tom. IN a sepul I.
chral whisper. do YOU know thera
isn't much gunpowder in the house!
! II this keeps on, what shall we do?'
Give them some hot molesses,
answered Frank. Ask me hard
or one next time.
1t is an inspiration. Why have
] not thought Of it before ? Sup.
pose you see to it. Frank. will
,, take look around while you are
starting the fires.
There was an arch Mt the end Of
one of the square rooms on the
ground floor. which had been put
in Colonel Bulow the previous year.
There were two kettles set. each
one of which would hold half bar
rel.
Frank, with the assistance of two
of the negroes, quickly filled these
with syrup, and a fire was soon blaz-
ing under them.
Meanwhile. in the vicinity Of the
sugar house there was quiet Groups
of savages could be seen at dis
tance, leaping dnd dancing around
the burning hacienda and out.
houses. ThA flames from those
dwellings made it almost as lighg
as day. 1t WAS not probable that
the savages would make any furth-
er attempt upon those ia the sugar
house until there was darkness 10
cover the attack.
Two or three times the defend
ers were tempted by the close prox-
Unity OF an Indian, who had more
temerity than the others, to try a
shot; but for more than an hour
there was very little threat or offer
of molestation on the part of the
SeminoIes. The besieged knew
well enough, however. that this was
only the calm before the storm.
1t was half-past two by Toms
watch, and the conflagration had
burned itself out go that it was be-
coming < indistinet again out of doors.
lie made the circuit Of the build
ing from top to bottom. and was in
the hall where the fires we're still
roaring under the kettles.
How is the molasses p he asked.
We shall want il at boiling heat.
i should think it might start an
Indian g scalp now, answered Frank
Tom laughed.
We'll. we shall need IL and be
fore long, too. Cant some OF the
negroes tend this I: You can 10
better work up stairs.
Frank delegated couple of the
blacks who were standing about to
care for the fire and To keep the
boiling fluid from being inspissated
by pouring IN at intervals pals full
of the cold molasses. and then he
followed his companion up stairs.
Tom was waiting for him ~ the
stair head.
How rsuch gunpowder have you:'
he asked.
'Oh, a couple of charges, per-
haps
And | haven't but one. That
wretch spoiled all the powder,
There's a whole cask below which
he has soaked with water. You
can see how sparing we have got to
be-
Well, the sugar house is i'm preg
nable, isn't it 2
Not quite, fear. They can
bnrn down the doors or batter them
down. and we couldn't help it.
What are you going to do p
Save our powder till the very last
and give them the scaIding molas
ses. Will yon look ont and see
what the fiends are doing:'
They appear TO be bringing up
armfuls of brush and piling it be-