concealing the extent of his uneasiness,
while he immediately set about inquiring into the extent of the evil.

"Joel is to join my watch," he said, "and _he_ may throw some
light on this affair. Let us call him, at once, for a few minutes may
prove of importance."

Even while speaking, the captain crossed the court, accompanied by the
serjeant and mason; and, ceremony being little attended to on such
occasions, they all entered the quarters of Strides, in a body. The
place was empty! Man, woman, and children had abandoned the spot,
seemingly in a body; and this, too, far from empty-handed. The manner
in which the room had been stripped, indeed, was the first fact which
induced the captain to believe that a man so much and so long trusted
would desert him in a strait so serious. There could be no mistake;
and, for a moment, the husband and father felt such a sinking of the
heart as would be apt to follow the sudden conviction that his enemies
must prevail.

"Let us look further, Joyce," he said, "and ascertain the extent of the
evil at once."

"This is a very bad example, your honour, that corporal Strides has set
the men, and we may expect to hear of more desertions. A non-
commissioned officer should have had too much pride for this! I have
always remarked, sir, in the army, that when a non-commissioned officer
left his colours, he was pretty certain to carry off a platoon with
him."

The search justified this opinion of the serjeant. A complete
examination of the quarters of all the men having been made, it was
ascertained that every white man in the Hut, the serjeant, Jamie Allen,
and a young New England labourer of the name of Blodget excepted, had
abandoned the place. Every man had carried off with him his arms and
ammunition, leaving the rooms as naked of defence as they had been
before they were occupied. Women and children, too, were all gone,
proving that the flights had been made deliberately, and with concert.
This left the Hut to be defended by its owner, the serjeant, the two
Plinys and a young descendant of the same colour, Jamie Allen, Blodget
and Mike, who had not yet been relieved from his ward over the Indian;
eight men in all, who might possibly receive some assistance from the
four black females in the kitchen.

The captain examined this small array of force, every man but Mike
being up and in the line, with a saddened countenance; for he
remembered what a different appearance it made only t