uld send a whole door."

"You may make as much fun as you please," said Rectus, "but I'm going to
write it out now."

And so he did, in big letters, on half a sheet of foolscap.

CHAPTER V.

STORMING SAN MARCO.

We started out on our storming expedition on a Tuesday night, about nine
o'clock; we had a latch-key, so we could come home when we pleased.
Rectus carried the rope, and I had the grapnel, wrapped in its cotton
wool. We put newspapers around these things, and made pretty respectable
packages of them. We did not go down the sea-wall, but walked around
through some of the inner streets. It seemed to us like a curious
expedition. We were not going to do anything wrong, but we had no idea
what the United States government would think about it. We came down to
the fort on its landward side, but our attack was to be made upon the
waterfront, and so we went around that way, on the side farthest from
the town. There were several people about yet, and we had to wait. We
dropped our packages into the moat, and walked about on the
water-battery, which is between the harbor and the moat, and is used as
a sort of pleasure-ground by the people of the town. It was a pretty
dark night, although the stars were out, and the last of the promenaders
soon went home; and then, after giving them about ten minutes to get
entirely out of sight and hearing, we jumped down into the moat, which
is only five or six feet below the water-battery, and, taking our
packages, went over to that part of the wall which we had fixed upon for
our assault.

We fastened the rope to the grapnel, and then Rectus stood back while I
made ready for the throw. It was a pretty big throw, almost straight up
in the air, but I was strong, and was used to pitching, and all that
sort of thing. I coiled the rope on the ground, took the loose end of it
firmly in my left hand, and then, letting the grapnel hang from my right
hand until it nearly touched the ground, I swung it round and round,
perpendicularly, and when it had gone round three or four times, I gave
it a tremendous hurl upward.

It rose beautifully, like a rocket, and fell inside of the ramparts,
making only a little thud of a sound.

"First-rate!" said Rectus, softly; and I felt pretty proud myself.

I pulled on the rope, and found the grapnel had caught. I hung with my
whole weight on it, but it held splendidly.

"Now, then," said I to Rectus, "you can climb up. Go slowly, and be ve