peered cautiously over the parapet he was
disconcerted at the discovery that here at least the sentinels did not
sleep; for the first object that met his gaze was a man standing at the
extreme end of the parapet, apparently gazing steadfastly out to sea,
while his crossed hands rested upon the muzzle of his grounded
matchlock. Luckily for the English, the man's back was turned toward
the spot where Stukely stood staring at him. In an instant the latter
had made up his mind what to do, and, cautiously climbing in through the
embrasure before him, stole noiselessly toward the unconscious man. A
few breathless seconds and Stukely had crept close up behind his
intended victim; and the next instant, as he knocked the man's hat off
with one hand, he dealt him with the other a blow on the head with the
heavy butt of his pistol, which felled the unfortunate fellow as a
butcher fells an ox. Quickly bending over the prostrate body, he now
held his unstoppered vial to the man's nostrils for three or four
seconds, then rose cautiously to his feet. He could see no other
sentinels posted anywhere on the parapet, but passed quickly round it in
order to make quite sure. Then, finding that only the one sentinel had
been posted here, he gave the signal for the rest of the party to
ascend; and a few minutes later the scene of a short while before was
being re-enacted on the parapet of this much more important structure.
They worked silently but with strenuous haste, for although the heavens
as yet gave no sign of the approaching dawn, the sudden comparative
coolness of the atmosphere and the twitterings of a few early morning
birds told them that it could not now be very far off; indeed they had
scarcely finished their preparations when a faint brightening of the
eastern horizon told them that a new day was at hand.

"Now, are we all ready?" asked Dick, as he personally put the last
finishing touches to the preparations. "Then down you all go except the
five men who are to help me with the firing of the quick matches. You
go last, Phil, and when you are down ignite the portfire which is to be
the signal to that man in the battery yonder; I and the five who are
remaining with me will see to the rest of the business up here. Now,
off you go quickly, for the daylight will be upon us in five minutes."

Dick watched his friend as the latter slid out through the embrasure and
descended the ladder; and when at length Stukely reached th