om the fort, all soon settled down to what
resolved itself during the next week into a pleasant kind of camping
out.

Rough tents were rigged up, and the different parties vied with each
other in their efforts to make their homes attractive. Fresh things
were brought in by the help of the slaves from the most outlying of the
houses, and when lights were lit in the evening the place looked pretty
in the extreme, so that more than once I found myself thinking that we
were to be the only sufferers from the Indian attack, and wondered, now
that the enemy had had so severe a lesson read them, how long it would
be before my father decided to go back and get our neighbours' help to
rebuild the house.

A fortnight glided by--fourteen days of uninterruptedly fine weather. I
had almost forgotten my injuries. Pomp had taken his wounded limb out
of the sling, and only remembered the injury when he tried to move his
hand, when he would utter a cry and begin softly rubbing the place.

Sarah too was recovering fast, and I knew no reason now why we should
still go on living such a military life, with the General and his
officers seeming to take delight in drilling, practising the men in the
use of their weapons, and setting guards by night, and sending out
scouts by day, with the gates closed rigorously at a certain time.

There was another thing done too, the idea being suggested by my
father--a lesson taught by our own misfortune--and this was that every
tub and cask that could be obtained in the settlement should be put
about in handy places, and kept well filled with water always, these
being supplemented by pails and buckets, which every one was bound to
set outside his place full of water every night, while the men were all
well practised in the extremely simple art of passing and refilling
buckets--so as to be ready in case of fire.

"There's some talk of giving up all this here playing at soldiers,
Master George," said Morgan to me one day.

"Is there?" I said, eagerly.

"Yes, and if you ar'n't tired of it, I am. Never so much as had a
chance to go out and scout like the others have."

"Well, I haven't either, nor Hannibal, nor Pomp."

"No, my lad; but if you don't tie down that jockey or chain him by the
leg, he'll be off one of these days. I'm always finding him sitting
a-top of the fence like a crow with his wing cut, thinking he wished he
could fly."

"Looking out for the Indians," I said.

"Not him, sir