arracks--they were shut in and strongly guarded. No conflict
took place anywhere between the authorities and the volunteers, and the
only casualty of any kind was the unfortunate death of one
coast-guardsman from heart disease at Donaghadee.

At Larne, where much the largest portion of the _Mountjoy's_ cargo was
landed, a triple cordon of Volunteers surrounded the town and harbour,
and no one without a pass was allowed through. The motors arrived with a
punctuality that was wonderful, considering that many of them had come
from long distances. As the drivers arrived near the town and found
themselves in an apparently endless procession of similar vehicles,
their astonishment and excitement became intense. Only when close to the
harbour did they learn what they were there for, and received
instructions how to proceed. They had more than two hours to wait in
drizzling rain before the _Mountjoy_ appeared round the point of
Islandmagee, although her approach had been made known to Spender by
signal at dusk. There were about five hundred motor vehicles assembled
at Larne alone, and such an invasion of flaring head-lights gave the
inhabitants of the little town unwonted excitement. Practically all the
able-bodied men of the place were either on duty as Volunteers or were
willing workers in the landing of the arms. The women stood at their
doors and gave encouraging greeting to the drivers; many of them ran
improvised canteens, which supplied the workers with welcome
refreshments during the night.

There was a not unnatural tendency at first on the part of some of the
motor-drivers to look upon the event more in the light of a meet of
hounds than of the gravest possible business, and to hang about
discussing the adventure with the other "sportsmen." But the use of
vigorous language brought them back to recognition of the seriousness of
the work before them, and the discharge of the cargo proceeded hour
after hour with the utmost rapidity and with the regularity of a
well-oiled machine. The cars drew up beside the _Mountjoy_ in an endless
_queue_; each received its quota of bales according to its carrying
capacity, and was despatched on its homeward journey without a moment's
delay.

The wisdom of Crawford's system of packing was fully vindicated. There
was no confusion, no waiting to bring ammunition from one part of the
ship's hold to match with rifles brought from another, and bayonets from
a third. The packages, as they