Others had been struck by the same fire. Each of the stricken rubbed his offended noddle in silence, and said nothing; this might be a mere parting volley-a sort of negative averment-something intended simply to show the disapprobation, by the matrons without, of the proceedings of the Benedicts within. But the screams of Holdout, penetrating through the din, had reached the soft ears of the ladies, who renewed their efforts with tenfold vigour : so that when the shower continued-when volley after volley descended, more and more potent as the injected - stones increased in size-when the cheers and the shouting without grew in proportion as the mental intoxication of excitement proceeded, the mutineers could take it in silence no longer.

"Holloa, old Mustaphy!" cried they, appealing to their leader," what the devil are we to do with these petticoats? It will never do to give up our prisoner."

"Give up be d-d," sturdily replied Mustapha; "that 'll never do. Jump one of ye on the wall, and tell them if they don't give over, we'll hang Methody on a pole as a target for them."

Quick at the word one of the men mounted on the surrounding parapet, and, waving his cap, endeavoured to obtain a hearing.

That which he gained, however, was solely on his own side the renewed shouts and groans of the besiegers, who, as if they had known part of his summons, began turning the tables by making a butt of him; and he, like other heralds, not liking that his office should be affronted in his person, barely staid to receive the first two or three volleys which were bestowed on him, then down he dropped; while the soft assailants, more comforted than ever, raised high the pæans of their triumph, and renewed the bombardment with greater force and rapidity than ever.

CHAPTER XXX.

And when she loves, still less she knows
Of manhood's baser fears;

But forms and hearts that scorn at blows
Will yield too soon to tears.

UNLUCKILY for the mutineers, they fought under every disadvantage. In the first place, their relentless and untiring foes had the greatest supply of ammunition; they themselves possessed none, even if they could have dared to use it. Their persecutors had ample shelter, but did not require any; they had need of every covert, but possessed The magazine was of course always kept locked, and no one permitted to enter it except when unshod.

none.

66 "D- -it, Mustapha, we can't stand this long," cried one and all, endeavouring to draw their brawny shoulders under the shelter of a very small hat, or squeeze themselves nearer to the surrounding walls, as the ceaseless shower of stones came down.

"Stand it, no-nor anything else; but they'll give it up soon, my boys."

"Not they, old fellow! Don't you hug yourself. Here it comes thickerer nor never."

"Holloa there, Mustapha, this won't do!-Give up the beggar to 'em; let the women have their Methody again! or we shall all die the death of Saint Stephen!"

"Die the death of Tom Pipes' dog!-You don't understand, I see, how to go to war with the petticoats. I'll soon make 'em beat a retreat, and make sail on the other tack-dash my wig if I don't! Round there, half a dozen hands, to the other side of the magazine, and rouse out the old rattle-trap of a fire-engine. Come, bear a hand and screw on the short set of pipes. Don't make too much of a row, or they'll twig what we're bent on. Screw on the sucker, drop it into the cistern, and play gently at first, till the hose gets full; then I'll just take the nozzle, and give 'em such a washing, Dear Souls, as they hav'n't had for a week o' Sundays. Now, then, run for it. D these stones, they don't fall comfortably at all!"

As old Mustapha concluded these remarks, with the objurgation quoted, he applied his handkerchief to the most prominent feature that adorned his dark visage, now streaming copiously with the ruby flood of life, which one of the ladies' gentle missiles had drawn from it. Taking the assault, however, as he did everything else, with wonderful coolness and philosophy, he waited till the fireengine was full charged; then mounting the wall which separated the besieged from the besiegers, he concealed the hose behind him, and made a motion as if to parley.

This, as he expected, only fanned the flame of sedition; the bombardment became stronger than ever, and marking out who were the ring-leaders of the attack, he dexterously brought forward the metal-directing tube of his aqueous artillery, gave a signal behind for the seamen to play fast, and indulged the soft and enthusiastic belligerents with such a copious shower, as in a few seconds outbalanced even the love of Holdout, and sent every one of them, drenched to the skin, to seek some less moist employment.

No sooner did the shower of stones cease, and the beleaguered seamen hear the running of their foes, than they raised the shout of triumph-played their engine with renewed vigour and forgot their damaged sconces in the gratification of victory.

"Here, my lads," cried Mustapha, "jump up one of ye, and take charge of this hose. If the enemy heaves in sight again, give us a signal to recommence firing; and now, my boys, pop that ere methody up on the cask again. If we look sharp, we may try and sentence the beggars while the light craft are bending new sails."

"Bravo, my hearty!" was the ready response of the crew; and with wonderful alacrity the shivering Holdout was once more placed on the caskhead, and silence was called in court for the trial to proceed.

"Gentlemen-gentlemen!" cried the prisoner, in a tone markedly altered from that in which he last addressed them, "is there no case in which you would-you-youcould extend your mercy?" (Here there was a dead pause; every one wondered what was coming.) "I mean, gentlemen," renewed Holdout-"I mean, gentlemen, in case you understand me-in case-there-there was anything I could-confess-gentlemen; that's all."

"The beggar's going to peach!" cried the crew, as soon as they took in the meaning of this hesitating appeal.

L*

"Why," replied old Mustapha, "if your mode o' doing business will let you be so big a blackguard as that, and you've got anything worth peaching about, perhaps we may let you off."

"Oh, sir, my conscience wouldna let me involve a fellowcreature in sin, maybe on an uncertainty."

"Oh, now, if it's only your conscience is onaisy, my boy, I'll soon give ye absolution!" replied an Irish captain of the afterguard, flourishing a shillelagh almost as big as himself.

"Oh, promise it to the varmint for a certainty, Mustapha," cried the crew, "and then we can give the women back their methody. 'Tisn't much live stock they have on the island, that we should go to distress them of such a scabby sheep as that."

"Confess! confess!" shouted others from all parts of the crowd.

"We promise," said Mustapha; "now go on."

66

Well, gentlemen, since you see with me the reasonable necessity of this plan, you must know, the master, ten months back, asked me if I'd help him to get away from the island; and having ties at home

"D- your ties, you desarve a knot, you villain; go on without that sort of humbug.'

Certainly, gentlemen-certainly, if you'll give me patience; so the master said, if I'd write out the description of the island, and so forth, from his wording, he'd seal the bottles and fling them out to sea, and by this means you see that he might deny he ever wrote a syllable, and I might deny I ever saw a bottle; and we determined to send one bottle to sea the first day of every month, which I believe he did."

A burst of anger followed this information from all parts of the crowded auditory, and then the question-" Is that all?"

"That's all, gentlemen, upon my most solemn honour." "Take that for your honour," was the instantaneous rejoinder, accompanied by a shower of stones from all sides, that fairly knocked the prisoner off his perch, which he, no ways encouraged thereby to mount again, did not seek to regain, but sneaked out through the gates of the magazine-yard as quickly as the numerous kicks he received would allow him to do.

CHAPTER XXXI.

"Vain is the hope, by dint of force or skill,
To stem the torrent of a woman's will;

For if she will she will, you may depend on't,

And if she wont she wont, and there's an end on't."

No sooner was the attention of the mutineers disengaged from the object of their detestation, than the fatal demand of "sentence" was heard in fierce reiteration from every lip. At first Mustapha was in hopes that he could have obtained for the master at least a second hearing, to show, if possible, that Holdout had spoken falsely; but this he had no sooner proposed, than he saw at once how little the government of popular assemblies can at all times be insured.

"Sentence! sentence!" was the only answer given him, and that in such a tone and temper as marks the hungry lion asking for his food. Seeing it would only defeat his own object to hold out, he contented himself with sending off to the master to ask what he had to say to the confession of his accomplice, and then proceeded to take the sentencé in the usual way.

"Sentence.-Now, my boys, such of you as think this charge against the master not brought close enough home, put up your hands!"

A dead silence ensued, Mustapha lifted his right arm, and two others in different parts of the crowd did the

same.

"Those who think the charge proved, hold up their flippers, and cry the sentence."

In an instant, a little forest of sturdy limbs was raised in air, and the hopeless doom of "Death!" rang forth with a degree of energy and triumph enough to try the nerves of the most courageous victim.

At this moment Mustapha's messenger returned. "Well," said the old fellow, not yet despairing of assisting the officer who had so often conned him at the wheel, and cheered his night watches with a glass of grog "what can the master do about that thief of a methody? can he clear it all up? What does he say?"