esolute and determined to fight to the
last.

I felt very impatient, waiting to hear the expected word of command from
my father, to fire. Several times I peeped through the port. At length
I saw a body of men emerge from the wood. They halted for a minute or
more,--being apparently the advanced guard,--till they were joined by
others. My father must have seen them, but he did not give the order to
fire. At length I saw the whole mass advancing, and at the same moment
my father's voice sounded loud and clear through the building,--"Be
prepared, my men! The enemy are coming; but reserve your fire till you
receive my orders, and then take good aim, and don't throw a shot away."

My uncle now came over to where I was posted. "The enemy appear to
intend attacking us only on this side," he observed; "I hope they may,
for we shall then be able to sweep them down as they ascend the open
slope. They have no scaling-ladders with them, I am thankful to see, or
our task would be more difficult. I will lend you a hand, Barry, in
fighting your gun, till I am called back to my own. We must take care
that while we are reloading none of them succeed in creeping through the
port; they are daring fellows, and may make the attempt."

We had kept the port closed, a man being stationed to lift up the trap
the moment the order to fire should be given. For a minute or more
perfect silence reigned through the house; every one stood eagerly
waiting for my father's orders. At length his voice was heard. "Fire!"
he shouted; and at the same moment, as if his command had been addressed
to the enemy, they began blazing away, the shot rattling like hail
against the walls.

Our port being unmasked, we ran out the gun, depressing it so as to
sweep the hill-side, and fired. Loud shrieks and cries arose as the
iron shower went crashing among them; but as we immediately closed the
port, we could not see how many fell. Still they advanced; and as they
did so our garrison kept firing away, with right good will, from every
loophole in the house. We meantime reloaded our gun and again ran it
out; but the enemy scarcely waited for its discharge. Its effects were
even more deadly than at first, for their front ranks were almost up to
the walls. Before the smoke had cleared away some of them dashed
forward towards the port, by command of their leader, for we heard his
voice giving the order; but we had our pikes raised to receive them, and