se,
sae muckle the better. Noo, gang awa' wi' ye, laddie; tak' care o'
yersel! and get back as soon as ye can, no forgettin' that if ye fin'
yoursel' in trouble, ye're to fire a pistol, and we'll come to your
help."

I touched my hat and, turning upon my heel, proceeded forthwith to
scramble up the steep face of the cliff, helping myself up by driving my
drawn cutlass deep into the stiff clay soil of which the cliff was
composed. Reaching the top without much difficulty, I found myself upon
somewhat uneven ground, the surface of which sloped slightly down toward
the land. The soil was clothed with short, thick grass and closely
overgrown with dense clumps of furze bushes, which I at once perceived
would afford excellent cover for the approach of our men. Somewhat to
my discomfiture, however, I saw a flock of sheep grazing at no great
distance inland, while about a mile away to the south-west was a small
village, in the single street of which I could perceive people already
moving about. Clearly, we had no time to lose if we wished to take our
friends the enemy by surprise; availing myself, therefore, to the utmost
extent of the cover of the furze bushes, I set off in the direction of
the battery, which I presently sighted about half a mile away. Stooping
low as I ran from bush to bush, and peering cautiously round each before
venturing to start for the next, I soon found myself within about thirty
yards of the battery, which I saw to be a crescent-shaped affair, facing
eastward and thus in conjunction with the battery on the opposite point,
completely commanding the entrance of the bay. It was in reality a
brick-work structure, consisting of four chambers with arched roofs
supporting a gun platform protected by a parapet pierced with
embrasures, the brick-work in its turn being protected by an earth-bank
thrown up in front of it in the form of a glacis. It mounted six
64-pounders; and the chambers beneath the gun platform I took to be the
magazine, general store-room, and soldiers' quarters. The gun platform
was approached at either end by a good wide flight of steps; and beside
each gun was a goodly pile of shot, while sponges, rammers, handspikes,
and the rest of the paraphernalia for loading and training the guns
reposed in brackets fixed to the inner face of the parapet. Two
sentries were stationed upon the gun platform, pacing to and fro, and
evidently keeping a sharp lookout to seaward, and a number of