company, who were quick-witted and
experienced in most things, were already taking
in hand the two unreasonable men.

The evening brought no coolness with it.
The heat was so oppressive that we all
panted under it. The stillness in the forest
was awful. We could almost hear the falling
of the leaves.

Half-past seven, eight, half-past eight, a
quarter to nine—Nine. The tramp of feet
came up the steps on one side, and the tramp
of feet came into the hall, on the other.
There was a confusion of voices,—then, the
voice of the Pirate Captain, speaking in his
own language,—then, the voice of the
American mute, ordering out the guard,—then
silence.

I crawled to the door of our room, and laid
myself down behind it, where I could see a
strip of the hall, being that part of it in
which the way out was situated. Here, also,
the Pirate Captain's tent had been set up,
about twelve or fourteen feet from the door.
Two torches were burning before it. By
their light, I saw the guard on duty file out,
each man munching his Tortilla, and each
man grumbling over it. At the same time,
in the part of the hall which I could not see,
I heard the men off duty grumbling also.
The Pirate Captain, who had entered his tent
the minute before, came out of it, and calling
to the American mate, at the far end of the
hall, asked sharply in English, what that
murmuring meant.

"The men complain of the Tortillas," the
mate tells him." They say, they are nastier
than ever to-night."

"Bring me one, and let me taste it," said
the Captain. I had often before heard people
talk of their hearts being in their mouths,
but I never really knew what the sensation
was, till I heard that order given.

The Tortilla was brought to him. He
nibbled a bit off it, spat the morsel out
with disgust, and threw the rest of the cake
away.

"Those Indian beasts have burnt the
Tortillas," he said, "and their dirty hides
shall suffer for it to-morrow morning." With
those words, he whisked round on his heel,
and went back into his tent.

Some of the men had crept up behind
me, and, looking over my head, had seen
what I saw. They passed the account of it
in whispers to those who could not see; and
they, in their turn, repeated it to the women.
In five minutes everybody in the two rooms
knew that the scheme had failed with the
very man whose sleep it was most important
to secure. I heard no stifled crying among
the women or stifled cursing among the men.
The despair of that time was too deep for
tears, and too deep for words.

I myself could not take my eyes off the
tent. In a little while he came out of it
again, pulling and panting with the heat. He
lighted a cigar at one of the torches, and laid
himself down on his cloak just inside the
doorway leading into the portico, so that all
the air from outside might blow over him.
Little as he was, he was big enough to lie
right across the narrow way out.

He smoked and he smoked, slowly and more
slowly, for, what seemed to me to be, hours, but
for what, by the watch, was little more than
ten minutes after all. Then, the cigar dropped
out of his mouth—his hand sought for it, and
sank lazily by his side his head turned over
a little towards the door—and he fell off: not
into the drugged sleep that there was safety
in, but into his light, natural sleep, which a
touch on his body might have disturbed.

"Now's the time to gag him," says Short,
creeping up close to me, and taking off his
jacket and shoes.

"Steady," says I. "Don't let's try that till
we can try nothing else. There are men asleep
near us who have not eaten the drugged cakes
—the Pirate Captain is light and active—
and if the gag slips on his mouth, we are all
done for. I'll go to his head, Short, with my
jacket ready in my hands. When I'm there,
do you lead the way with your mates, and step
gently into the portico, over his body. Every
minute of your time is precious on account of
making the rafts. Leave the rest of the
men to get the women and children over;
and leave me to gag him if he stirs while
we are getting out."

"Shake hands on it, Davis," says Short,
getting to his feet. "A team of horses
wouldn't have dragged me out first, if you
hadn't said that about the rafts."

"Wait a bit," says I, "till I speak to Mr.
Kitten."

I crawled back into the room, taking care
to keep out of the way of the stones in the
middle of it, and asked Mr. Kitten how long
it would be before the drugged cakes acted
on the men outside who had eaten them?
He said we ought to wait another quarter
of an hour, to make quite sure. At the
same time, Mr. Macey whispered in my
ear to let him pass over the Pirate Captain's
body, alone with the dangerous man of
our company—Serjeant Drooce. "I know
how to deal with mad people," says he.
"I have persuaded the Sergeant that if he is
quiet, and if he steps carefully, I can help
him to escape from Tom Packer, whom he
is beginning look on as his keeper. He has
been as stealthy and quiet as a cat ever since
—and I will answer for him till we get to
the river side."

What a relief it was to hear that! I was
turning round to get back to Short, when a
hand touched me lightly.

"I have heard you talking," whispered
Miss Maryon; "and I will prepare all in my
room for the risk we must now run. Robert,
the ship's boy, whom the children are so fond
of, shall help us to persuade them, once more,
that we are going to play a game. If you
can get one of the torches from the tent, and