The Island School — page 239: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

198 Then Eveline must hear of it, and both mother and daughter soon joined the excited group below. And now all the masters showed how little they ‘were to be depended upon. Mr. Storeby and Turner lost their heads, and went rambling about in a semi- idiotic way that exasperated Martin and the other master-teachers of trades, and they finally bundled them into the room Charley had recently occupied at the back of the kitchen, and fastened them in. Who could think of breakfast at that time of excite- ment and terror ? | Eveline had only to ran her eyes over the boys in the hall when she came down, to see that those with whom she was most concerned were missing. Out- side doing their duty, and more than their duty, of course. . Somebody suggested going to the ramparts—it might have been Hveline—but in the confusion of voices no certainty could be made on that point, especially as the cry was promptly taken up by a score voices, and there was a rush for that place of vantage for seeing the coming fight. But Eveline, swift and lght of foot, was the first there, and the scene she looked upon below amazed her, Behind the parapets of the forts crouched the boys eating their breakfast. In the Redan Charley .was stretched out before them with his mouth open, to catch any morsels he might be favoured with. Romeo was standing behind Jim, who was seated on the parapet with his rifle resting on his knees. In his hand he had a biscuit, which he was eating, while his eyes kept close watch on the path below. It was a peaceful scene so far, but the hum of the Spaniards’ voices told another story, and for a moment the fair girl buried her face in her hands. Then as the boys poured up from below she rallied, and assumed a calmness that was very opposite of the turmoil in her breast. *‘ Where are the men?” she asked Dibble, who was _ one of the first to arrive. | ‘Down by the gate,” replied the boy. says that, if necessary, he will go out and give a hand. -They have their rifles.” “Why do they not go now?” impetuously demanded Kveline. © “It was Jim Gordon’s orders that they were tostop here and look after the castle.” “ Wise, I daresay,” muttered Eveline, “ but I wish he would think less of some particular person in it at such a time as this.” She saw Jim drop suddenly down from the parapet, and his voice, although he spoke low, floated up to her: “Allready. Coolandsteady. Fire at the word— not before !” “Martin | THE ISLAND SCHOOL. Then glancing lower down, she saw the Spaniards coming up the path, Reonardo foremost. Jim kept his head low, peering over the top of the gun which was ready in the embrasure. The advancing foe made quite a crowd in the narrow way, and there was no indication that they expected any defence outside the castle, for Reonardo, glancing upward and seeing a host of heads above the rdmparts, drew the attention of his men to them. Rifles and pistols were instantly levelled at them, and the group of heads disappeared with wondrous celerity. Reonardo uttered a hoarse laugh. ‘“¢ Are those your brave young Britishers °” he asked, scornfully. “ Advance, comrades! The castle is ours !”’ They poured up in a stream until they were almost level with the first fort, and then the two guns belched out their fiery contents. Cries and groans foliowed, but were drowned in the ringing reports of the rifles as Jim gave the word © to fire. The small-arms in Morse’s fort for the present were silent. Smoke obscured everything for the few rninenes that succeeded, but, in spite cf the obvious danger, those on the ahaparts raised their heads again and looked down upon the scene. And this, as the smoke cleared away, is what they saw. Reonardo and some of the more desperate of the men — half their number — had overcome their momentary surprise and made a dash for the fort, Of the rest, fully two-thirds lay wounded or dead, and the remaining portion had fled. | And now the rifles from the Roman Camp began to speak: ‘ Morse, cool and steady enough to satisfy the most particular of field-marshals, was commanding his troop, directing them to aim so that by no chance would they wound their friends in the opposite fort. Several Spaniards fell under their fire. But it was on Jim and his party of young warriors - that the chief attention was concentrated. Reonardo, raging like a furious tiger, leapt into the fort with a pistol in one hand and a dagger in the other. He was followed by half a dozen or so of his men. The fight that ensued was most desperate—a chaos of heads and arms, daggers and clubbed rifles. The madness of war, that often comes to young warriors in their first experience of a battle, came over the boys. They fought as surely boys never fought before during the brief spell the contest lasted. Never afterwards could even those who looked down from above give the details of that fight. They noticed, however, that Charley, the bear, seized a man and held him tight between his huge forearms until all was Mic (E{ @) ( @ @ ) 4