's what all your friends in the island wish you to have, but you
won't get them by murdering the few white people in your power,"
answered our host.

"Dat you say is true, Massa Talboys," cried a black from the crowd.

"Hold your tongue, Quembo; take dat!" and the sound of a crushing blow,
accompanied by a shriek, reached our ears, as if the last speaker had
brained his wiser comrade.

"We no cum here to talk, we cum to fight," shouted several together.
There was a good deal of jabbering, and once more I saw, through a
loophole out of which I was looking, the sable army approaching.

"Stand to your arms!" cried Mr Talboys. "We mustn't let these fellows
get too confident. Shade all the lights, but don't fire until I give
the word."

It was pretty evident, from the bold way the blacks came on, that they
supposed we were badly supplied with firearms, one shot only having been
discharged. Mr Talboys waited till they got within thirty paces, when,
just as two or three of them had hurriedly discharged their pieces, he
gave us the order to fire, and we sent a shower of bullets among the
sable mass. Without stopping to see what effect it had produced we all
reloaded as rapidly as possible. A few bullets rattled against the
house, but before we again fired the greater number of our assailants
were scrambling off, in spite of the efforts of their leader to induce
them to make a stand. As far as I could judge, looking through my
loophole, none were killed, though several must have been wounded.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

A NARROW ESCAPE.

The overseer proposed dashing out, with a whip in one hand and a sword
in the other.

"The rascals won't stop running if they see us coming after them," he
said.

Mr Talboys, however, wisely ordered all of us to remain inside the
walls.

"There are brave fellows among them, notwithstanding the cowardice of
some, and they are very likely to turn round and cut us to pieces," he
observed.

This would certainly have been the case, for we heard the blacks
shouting and shrieking at no great distance off, though beyond the range
of our muskets. They had evidently halted.

"We must be ready for another attack, my friends," cried Mr Talboys.
"Keep at your posts."

Miss Lucy came up to where Tom and I were standing.

"We're so much obliged to you," she said. "If those dreadful blacks had
got in, we knew that we should all be killed. You have defended us
bravely, and we're so glad t