The Argosy, Vol. XXIV, No. 1 — page 132: what you’re looking at

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

132 THE MUTINY ON THE FLYING CLOUD. ture of the climate. Still there existed in the breasts of all so strong a feel- ing of insecurity so long as the ‘‘ fort ’’ remained unbuilt, that they deter- mined rather to suffer the unpleasantness of being daily drenched to the skin than to protract the uneasy feeling of defenselessness which haunted them. The building, then, was pushed forward with all possible expedition, and, thanks to the indefatigable energy with which they labored, was so far finished as to be habitable within a couple of months of its commencement, though of course a great deal still remained to be done before it could be regarded as absolutely secure. The site for this house or fort—for when finished it really was strong enough to merit the latter name—was finally fixed so as to include within its limits a spring of pure fresh water—an adjunct of the utmost importance if it should ever fall to the lot of the occupants to be placed in a state of siege, and it possessed the further advantage of completely commanding both the land and water approaches to the proposed ship yard. It was built in the form of a hollow square, inclosing a small courtyard (which the ladies determined to convert into a garden at the earliest oppor- tunity) with the spring in its center. One'side of the house was set apart for the purpose of a general living room; the two contiguous sides were divided unequally—the larger divisions forming respectively the doctor’s and the engineer’s sleeping rooms, while the smaller divisions served as kitchen and larder ; and the fourth side afforded ample sleeping accommodation for the remainder of the party, with a store room in one angle of the building, and the magazine and armory in the other. The windows all looked outward, but were small, and strongly defended with stout iron bars built into the masonry, and with massive wood shutters inside, loopholed for rifle firing. The doors giving access to the rooms all opened upon the courtyard, and were as high and wide as they could be made, so as to let in plenty of light and air. : For still further security there was no doorway whatever in the exterior face of the building, egress and ingress being possible only by means of a staircase in the courtyard leading up on to the flat roof, and thence down on the outside by means of a light bamboo ladder which could be hauled up on the roof in case of need. The roof, or roofs rather, had only a very gentle slope or fall inward, just sufficient to allow of the rain flowing off, and afforded a fighting platform at a height of about fourteen feet from the ground, the defenders being sheltered by the exterior walls, which were carried up five feet and also loopholed. It seemed at first sight a great waste of labor to build so strong a place as this for what the refugees hoped would be a comparatively brief sojourn, but, as Grant pointed out to them, there was no knowing precisely how long their stay on the island might be protracted, and if they were going to construct a defense at all, it was as well, whilst they were about it, to build something ° which should effectually serve its purpose. And after all, when the work came to be undertaken, it was found that it took but little if any longer time than would have been required to put up a wooden house and to surround it with an effective palisade. GEomichook