came, and
towards dawn the bulk of the imported material was lessened by half. On
the following night the remainder was removed, after my own men had
stored in the Castle the rifles and ammunition reserved for its defence
if necessary. It was advisable to keep a reserve supply in case it
should ever be required. The following night Rooke went away secretly in
the chartered vessel. He had to bring back with him the purchased cannon
and heavy ammunition, which had been in the meantime stored on one of the
Greek islands. The second morning, having had secret word that the
steamer was on the way, I had given the signal for the assembling of the
mountaineers.

A little after dark the vessel, showing no light, stole into the creek.
The barrier gates were once again closed, and when a sufficient number of
men had arrived to handle the guns, we began to unload. The actual
deportation was easy enough, for the dock had all necessary appliances
quite up to date, including a pair of shears for gun-lifting which could
be raised into position in a very short time.

The guns were well furnished with tackle of all sorts, and before many
hours had passed a little procession of them disappeared into the woods
in ghostly silence. A number of men surrounded each, and they moved as
well as if properly supplied with horses.

In the meantime, and for a week after the arrival of the guns, the
drilling went on without pause. The gun-drill was wonderful. In the
arduous work necessary for it the great strength and stamina of the
mountaineers showed out wonderfully. They did not seem to know fatigue
any more than they knew fear.

For a week this went on, till a perfect discipline and management was
obtained. They did not practise the shooting, for this would have made
secrecy impossible. It was reported all along the Turkish frontier that
the Sultan's troops were being massed, and though this was not on a war
footing, the movement was more or less dangerous. The reports of our own
spies, although vague as to the purpose and extent of the movement, were
definite as to something being on foot. And Turkey does not do something
without a purpose that bodes ill to someone. Certainly the sound of
cannon, which is a far-reaching sound, would have given them warning of
our preparations, and would so have sadly minimized their effectiveness.

When the cannon had all been disposed of--except, of course, those
destined for defence of the