ugh to
the house to enable them to see that it had been put into a state of
defence, they halted, and some half-a-dozen of them clustered about an
immensely tall and powerful-looking negro who was attired in the stained
and somewhat tattered uniform of a Spanish infantry colonel, and wore a
sword buckled about his waist, with a pair of big horse pistols thrust
into his belt. Apparently they were conferring together as to what was
to be done under the unexpected circumstances; for it now appeared that,
so completely had they succeeded in terrorising the whites, serious
resistance to their raids had practically become a thing of the past.

The appearance among the attacking force of the big negro
above-mentioned seemed to fill Don Luis and Don Esteban with
consternation, for they recognised him at once as the chief of the
outlaws, and a man with a reputation for ruthless savagery that had
caused his name to become a word of terror among the whites on the
island, only to be mentioned with bated breath.

"It is Petion himself!" gasped Don Esteban in accents of dismay, "and if
we should be so unfortunate as to fall into his hands after resisting
him, our fate will be too dreadful for description! Would it not be
better," he suggested, with quivering ashen lips, "that we should
surrender at discretion, without attempting resistance? If we do so we
shall probably be shot, out of hand; but even that would be preferable
to being carried off into the mountains, and there dying a lingering
death by torture, as we know that many other whites have done who have
dared to resist Petion."

"No, certainly not!" answered Don Luis with decision. "I will never
agree to it. Our young friend, Don Ricardo, here, seems to be of
opinion that the house is capable of being defended effectively, and he
ought to know, since fighting is his trade. And I do not suppose that
the mere fact of Petion's appearance among our assailants is going to
make him alter his opinion. Is it, Don Ricardo?"

"By no means," said I. "Rather the other way about. For if we can only
contrive to bowl over Mister Petion--"

Don Esteban uttered an ejaculation of horror. "Kill Petion!" he
exclaimed. "My good sir, I most fervently hope that no one in this
house will be so ill-advised as to attempt Petion's life. For if
anything were to happen to him his followers would be so incensed, so
utterly maddened with fury, that they would simply pull the place down
a