mporary
shelters from possible foul weather. Lancelot's scheme was to enclose
all these buildings in a strong wall, and to connect that fort by
another wall with the spot at which our skiff was beached.

There was no great difficulty in the construction of such a stockade in
itself. Timber enough and to spare was to be had for the chopping, and
we had thirty odd pairs of arms and sufficient axes to make that a
matter of no difficulty. Nor was there any difficulty as regards the
building of such a fort, for Lancelot's knowledge of military matters
made him quite capable of planning it out according to the most approved
methods of fortification.

We set to work upon the stockade at once, and soon were chopping away
for dear life, even Marjorie wielding a light axe, and wielding it well.
Many hands, it is said, make light work, and there were enough of us to
make the business move pretty quickly. Choosing trees with trunks of a
middling thickness, we soon had a great quantity cut down and made of
the length that was needed. These we proceeded to set up in the places
that Lancelot had marked out, but first we dug deep trenches in the
ground so as to ensure their being firmly established, Marjorie taking
her share of the spade work with a will. We had not done very much
before Abraham Janes, the carpenter, came out of the hut and joined us.
He declared that he was now well refreshed, and that he wished to bear
his part in the labour; and indeed we were very glad to let him do so,
because he was an exceedingly skilful workman, and very ready with the
use of saw and hatchet.

CHAPTER XXVI

THE BUSINESS BEGINS

With toil we set up the front of our stockade and a portion of the sides
of the parallelogram. It was all loopholed for our musketry, and was
firm and strong, being carefully stiffened behind by cross beams and
shored up with buttresses of big logs in a manner that, if not
thoroughly workmanlike, was at least satisfactory from the point of
strength, which was just then our main consideration. Our palisade was
about double the height of a man, and in the centres, both front and
back, there was a gate, that was held in its place when shut by heavy
bars of wood which fitted into holes cut to receive them.

Ere set of sun we had our outworks completed, and found ourselves the
possessors of a very creditable stockade, which under ordinary
conditions ought, if properly manned and well supplied with ammunition,