A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 183: what you’re looking at

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180 A QUEER RACE. now as he only wanted to make a spoon-handle of me, and may be to do something against you and the queen. But he soon found out as though I might be a fool I wasn’t a knave, and he did his dirty work himself, or got somebody else to do it. When the Diana, as was thought, broke away from her moorings and foundered, my eyes was opened, and I knew as J had lost my best friend; but 1t was not till you came hack that 1 had any idea as Mr. Fane was not as honest as he made out. And now, Mr. Erle, will you forgive me, and let by-gones be by- gones? If you can make any use of me, I am quite willing to serve with you agen these niggers, or redskins, or piebalds, or whatever they are. I’m a naval reserve man, and know my gun dril and small-arm drill as well as anybody.” I took old T'om’s profferea nand, and assured him that I should be only too glad to let by-gones be by-gones, that his help would be invaluab's, and that I should give him an important command. ae CHAPTER XXIX. WYNTER’S HILL. NEVER in my life did I work so hard as during the next few days and nights, for I wrought eighteen and twenty hours at a stretch, sleeping as opportunity offered. When my messengers returned, ten days later, with the news that Swamp Island swarmed with Cariberoes, that a considerable number had disembarked in the neighborhood of Wynter’s Hill, and more canoes were in sight, the state of affairs was this: { had an army of some one thousand five hundred men, all of them in the prime of life, none less than five feet ten inches in height, as keen-sighted as hawks, as active as cats, and, as I believed, as brave as lions, but with nearly everything to learn in the way of discipline. The archer-guard consisted of five hundred men. They were splendid shots, marched fairly together, and could exe- cute a few simple movements. The others were tolerable bowmen, but when I took them in hand utterly unor- ganized. I divided the one thousand five hundred into three regiments, which I called first, second, and third, each officered by a colonel, a major, and five captains o-7 Gomicbooks.co m