d Murray to raise
the poor fellow to his feet. "Why didn't you speak out about the
gunpowder before?"

"Caesar not know," moaned the shivering black. "Key dah," he panted.
"Key dah."

"Key dah!" growled the big sailor. "Who's to know where _dah_ is?
Can't you show us? I believe we shall have the beggars here before we
can find it, sir."

But the black began to recover a little and ended by leading the way in
the darkness to a closet in the principal down-stairs room, leaving it
open, and then, armed with a key and hurrying his companions back, he
opened a door in the wide hall, and holding on by the big sailor, showed
the way down into the cellar of the well-vaulted house.

The rest proved to be easy, though every step was taken under a state of
intense excitement, while the wounded and worn-out sailors forgot every
suffering, inspired as they now were by hope.

At last, armed with a couple of fair-sized kegs of powder, held in
reserve in case of troubles with the large body of slaves that were
always about the plantation and at the so-called barracks, the plan of
laying a mine and firing it when next the enemy made an attack was
modified at Murray's suggestion into the preparing of some half-dozen
shells, each composed of an ordinary wine bottle or decanter fully
charged and rammed down with an easily prepared slow match such as would
occur to any lad to contrive ready for lighting from a candle held
prepared in the upper chamber, risk being a matter that was quite left
out of the question.

"Hah!" ejaculated Murray, as the shells were at last prepared. "Now
they may come on as soon as they like. This must be the best plan,
Tom--to wait till they begin to attack, and fire from here."

"Well, it's the safest, sir; but mightn't we load every piece we've got
and give 'em a taste of that wittles as well, sir?"

"Of course," was the reply; and every piece was loaded; but still the
enemy did not come.

"I say, sir, this here arn't going to end in a big disappyntment, is it,
sir?"

"What, do you think they mayn't come?"

"Yes, sir, that's it."

"What could be better, Tom?" replied Murray.

"Oh, I want 'em to come, sir," grumbled the man. "They've made us so
savage that we shan't none of us be happy without we gets a chance to
use this here dust."

"They'll come; depend upon it, Tom," said Murray.

"Then how would it be to light a fire out yonder, sir?" suggested the
big sailor.

"What, so as to s