The Island School — page 360: what you’re looking at

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

sah THE Mrp3 CHT souMoNs AT THE GATE. taal | 303 Heat unas ye fe AL ries ica Na ‘were ( owed as if with wax. Fle ‘pend the Leraeanch - given, listened to the retreating footsteps, and felt a aot y pass over his breast. Then came the clanging of E the gates as they closed, the sound of voices dying : _. away across the courtyard, subsiding at last into a a faint murmur from the hall. a He had been left to die, but he was not dead. Strange to say, also, he felt no pain. Presently he ‘ : opened his eyes and found that he was lying upon his back with his heels in the air. They rested on the - edge of the grave. The position was an uncomfort- able one, and he shifted a little. As he did so, he saw there was a paper pinned to his breast. i He pulled it off, and read, in large printed charac- ters, the following words: “You have been shot with blank cartridge and died ; _ ike what you are, a coward and traitor. You are not ay worth shooting. Go back to your friends.” ___ _-His amazement was so great at first he could hardly realise what the writing portended. It seemed scarcely _ possible that it could after all have been nothing more than a joke. Ppt “ Anyways,” he muttered, “I live. Only I wish the i “young beggars had ‘lowed me to stop in the castle. fk AE I goes back to that Spanish lot they’ll make short - work of me. I must hang rourd a bit and see if I - ean’t soften, their hearts to let mein. I think I’ve had enough of going crooked. Gimme a chance, and _ Il go straight in the future.” ii He clambered out of the hole that was to be no grave after all, and slowly made his way to the rear if ' of the castle. / Me? CHAPTER CLXVI. Bree THE MIDNIGHT SUMMONS AT THE GATE, HAT else could we do,” said Jim; ‘it | was impossible to shoot or hang him. We cannot turn ourselves into public executioners, and it was not nice to have him here. I don’t suppose the old beggar will come to much harm. Now let us look round, as usual.” | It was Chorker he was speaking of and Morse was his companion. Together bey ce round the castle, a duty they, per- OTT ned twice a day without fail. rather permed Jim that nothing had been seen ine 0: or those with | er. 3 Nor ye pean, in our fi WA! ANTON But he got at it at last, and drew in a ieee breath. | goon. \\/ as a siya Poe 5 * Seer ae i at BASIL ie Wed ssph Peale (a: a) RTARTA, A pe We Re ‘a OU ia ZS eee reeinons, Be the negroes being. about. Nor jaa - Charley, the bear, shown his interesting body. All had iS vanished as if they had been so much smoke. | _ The custom of the two friends was to take the back 4 of the castle first, and there they got the best view _ from the back windows. Inthe bedroom of the three — : negroes they had rigged up a rough Piette fe) Sy oe SEIPRy boxes which could be easily scaled. | Springing lightly to the summit, Jim peeped out, but immediately bobbed his head down. He held up a warning finger. — i i Morse,” he said, “there is one of those fellows oS outside making a screen of bushes.” Wd oy Morse stared at him with a look that was bordering — i on dismay. - ‘ De “There is only one thing that could be wanted for, s J Me =a ~~ ~~ ~ © <= aes Ze ~ Pepe 2 ts estes we a eet oo © *) ‘ a. ee | he said. o | “What is that ?” inquired Jim. 0 It was merely a formal question. He had already guessed the purport of the work. ist af dhey have the second cannon there, or on se jai way, answered Morse. ¢ hs “That is certain. And when toe get it into EOS they can pound a hole in the wall in half an ie hour.” 4 ; “ We must try to stop it.” is} Morse knew the difficulties that beset the task. He The builder of the castle had not contemplated an attack from the rear. No doubt he did his work before cannon came into use. 4 2 Walls too high, with windows impracticable nd wag I" setting into if reached, he had thought sufticient. There were no ramparts, and the towers were all in 4 the centre or in front. Shooting from these summits va would not touch anyone immediately below. A ta ra “We must think this over,” he said, “and for the | v present your looking out will suffice. when it grows — dark I will take a survey of the position.” | Ne The discovery came upon them with a shock. They Hi knew all along that getting a cannon there was re sible, but did not dream it could be accomplished so SO Besides, there had been a faint hope, off and. on, that. the enemy had gone away. mii % “Perhaps, after all,” said Jim, squatting down on. is Romeo’s disordered bed, “ they may be making pre- parations that will only lead to nothing.” ‘“ We must never reckon on that,” said Morse. ae He could make some hand grenades, it was true, a but the difficulty and danger of using them wasappa- _ rent. The hand cannot throw projectiles very far, a and an explosion near the walls of the castle might be as injurious to themselves as to the foo—perhaps more so. | | Me Still, something must be done to thwart thie. the | latest movement against them. There was only one ere there mks man in ih but, of coors he was not alone. Other ae ie lio ; ti Ay Math Sa ra AN HAVA | ahi ie Me J bai » sla ne ie Ca 0) micbook CS.GC if | er = be . i = L f f Vie: