he expedition into the forest, and
the burning of the governor's house, were matters which seriously
affected their pride. Defeat by English buccaneers they were
accustomed to; and regarding the English, at sea, as a species of
demon against whom human bravery availed little. They were slightly
touched by it; but that they should be defied by a set of runaway
slaves; and of natives, whom they had formerly regarded with
contempt; was a blow to their pride.

Quietly, and without ostentation, troops were drafted into the
island from the neighboring posts, until a formidable force had
been gathered there. The foresters had now plenty of means of
communication with the negroes, who regarded them as saviors, to
whom they could look for rescue and shelter, in case of their
masters' cruelty; and were always ready to send messengers up into
the forest, with news of every occurrence which took place under
their observation. The grown-up slaves, of course, could not leave
the plantation; but there were numbers of fleet-footed lads who,
after nightfall, could be dispatched from the huts into the
mountains, and return before daylight; while, even should they
remain until the next night, they would attract no attention by
their absence.

Thus, then, Ned and Gerald learned that a formidable body of
Spaniards were being collected, quietly, in the town; and every
effort was made to meet the coming storm. The various gorges were
blocked with high barricades; difficult parts of the mountain were,
with great labor, scarped so as to render the advance of an armed
force difficult in the extreme; great piles of stones were
collected, to roll down into the ravines; and provisions of yams,
sweet potatoes, and other food were stored up.

The last stronghold had, after a great debate, been fixed upon at a
point in the heart of one of the hills. This was singularly well
adapted for defense The hill itself was extremely precipitous on
all sides. On one side, it fell sheer down. A goat track ran along
the face of this precipice, to a point where the hill fell back,
forming a sort of semicircular arena on the very face of the
precipice. This plateau was some two acres in extent. Here
quantities of forage were heaped up in readiness, for the food of
such animals as might be driven in there. The track itself was,
with great labor, widened; platforms of wood being placed at the
narrow points; and steps were cut in the hill behind the plateau to
en