's ears. As the storming-party advanced,
they shrieked louder and louder, but did not run away, because
apparently there was no where to run to.

"Don't be frightened, missis," exclaimed Hemming, taking one of them by
the arm. "Tell us where the men are, whose heads we have come to break.
We won't hurt you."

The old ladies, however, made no reply to this assurance; but only
screamed on, probably because they did not understand English. As no
one of the party spoke a word of Greek, there was little chance of any
information being obtained from the ancient dames. Perhaps they had an
object in screaming, to cover the retreat of their friends; so thought
Lieutenant Thorn, because if the pirates were not in the fort, who else
could have pitched down the stones on their heads as they scrambled up?
Certainly not the three old women; that would have been a disgrace.
They would not have had time even to have hobbled away and retreated to
the place where they were found. Many of the men declared vehemently
that they had seen the heads of the pirates, long-bearded fellows,
looking over the ramparts, and that they could not be, even then, very
far off. Accordingly, leaving Murray with a couple of sailors to look
after the three old women, the two parties of seamen, under their
respective officers, once more divided to go in search of the outlaws.

"I say, Jack, don't you take me for a pirate again, if you please," said
Terence, as they separated. They wandered about in all directions,
putting their noses into huts, and their cutlasses into heaps of straw
and litter of all sorts; but the whole place seemed deserted. They
found nothing. Perhaps this was because they had no torch, and the
night was very dark. Already a few faint streaks of daylight were
appearing in the sky, when, as Terence was standing near Hemming, a
trampling of feet was heard, and loud shouts in the distance.

"Hurrah! here come the Greeks, they have been routed out at last," cried
Paddy. They could just make out a body of men stooping down, they
thought, and hurrying towards them, not seeing that their enemies were
ready to intercept them.

"Cut them down, if they don't yield themselves prisoners," sang out
Hemming, leading on his men. Paddy sprang on boldly, in his eagerness
to meet the foe, and instantly afterwards was knocked head over heels by
one of his opponents. He felt as if he had been run through by a
bayonet or a pike, or something