Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1923-11-09

handerkerchief under my hat for
, GOODNESS sake, and brace of pistols
} ready primed for safety.
/ had not gone a hundred yards
when / came on the stockade.
This was how il was: A spring of
clear water arose at the top of a
knoll. Well on the knoll, and in
closing the spring, they had clapped
stout log house, fit to hold two
score people on a pinch, and loop
holed for musketry on every side. All
around this was completed by a pal
! ing six feet high, without door or
opening, too strong to pull down
without time and labor, and too open
TO shelter the besiegers. The people
in the log house had them in every
/ way; they stood quiet in the shelter
| and shot the Others like partridges.
All they wanted was a good watch
and food; for, short of a complete
surprise, they might have held the
| place against regiment.
What particularly took my fancy
was the spring For, though we
had a good enough place of IL in the
cabin of the Hispaniola, with plenty
of arms and ammunition, and things
to eat, and excellent wines, there
| udu DtGn OuG AiAAh6 bhNAAbOh6u- W
had no water. ! was thinking 1t
over when there came ringing over
the island the cry of man at the
point of death. l was not new to
violent death - / have served his
Royal Highness the Duke of Cumber
land, and got a wound myself at
Fontenoy but / know my pulse
went dot and carry one. Jim Haw
kins is gone" was my first thought.
1t is something to have been an
old soldier, but more still to have
been a doctor. There is no time TO
dilly-dally in our work. And so now
l made up my mind instantly and
with no time lost / returned to the
shore and jumped on board the jolly /
boat.
BY good fortune Hunter pulled J.
good oar. We made the water /
fly, and the boat soon came along 4
side and / aboard the schooner.
l found them all shaken, as was |
natural. The squire was sitting |
down, as white as a sheet, thinking |
of the harm he had led us to, the |
good soull and one of the six for
castle hands was little better.
There's a man." said Captain
Smollett, nodding toward him, new !
to this work He came nigh-hand |
fainting, doctor, when he heard the
cry. Another touch of the rudder
and that man would join US"
/ told my plan to the captain, and
between us we settled on the details
of its accomplishment.
We put old Redruth in the gallery
between the cabin and the forecastle
with three or four loaded muskets
and mattress for protection. Hunt
sr brought the boat round under the
stern port, and Joyce and l set tc
work loading her with powder, tins,
muskets, bags of biscuits, kegs of
pork, a cask of cognac, and my in
valuable medicine chest.
In the meantime the squire and
the captain stayed on deck, and the
latter hailed the cOckswain, who was
the principal man on board.
''Mr. Hands," said he, here are
two of us with a brace of pistols
each. If any one Of you six make
a signal of any description, that
mans dead"
They were a good deal taken
aback; and, after a little consulta-
ton, one and all tumbled down the
fore companion, thinking, no doubt,
to take us from the rear But whei
they saw Redruth waiting for then
in the spared gallery, they Went
about ship at once, and a head
popped out again on deck.
Down, dogi" cried the captain. Z
And the head popped back again ,
and we heard no more for the time OF
.hese six very faint-hearted seamen
BY this time, tumbling things IN
is they came, we had the jolly-boat /
oaded as much as we dared. Joyce
md / got out through the stern
lOrt, and we made for shore again
Is fast as oars could take us.
This second trip fairly aroused G
he watchers along shore. "Lilli- :
)ullero" was dropped again, and
ust before we lost sight of them be- =
lind the little point, one of them C
whipped ashore and disappeared. s
lad half a mind to change ny plan n
md destroy their boats, but / feared
hat Silver and the others might be ,
lose at hand, and all might very I
veil be lost by trying too much a
We had soon touched land in the
anne place as before and set to pro- r
,ision the block-house. All three
made the first journey, heavily laden
nd tossed our stores over the pals s.
de. Inen, leaving joyce 10 guard q
hem-one man, to be sure, but with "a
Ialf a dozen muskets-Hunter and =
returned to the jolly-boat, and load
d ourselves once more. So we pro II
without pausing to take Isl
reath, till the whole cargo was be- n
towed, when the two servants took =
ID their position in the blockhouse, u
nd l, with all my power, sculled a.
ack to the Hispaniola. C
That we should .have risked !.
econd boat-load seems more daring
han it really was They had the q
dvantage Of numbers, of course, but p
re had the advantage of arms. Not 2;
ne of the men ashore had a musket, n
nd before they could get within
ange for pistol shooting, we flat u
cred ourselves we should be able TO
i've a good account of a half-dOzen
t least. {