; "what I
mind is the silver."

This was when the store beneath the counting-house became charged with
too valuable a collection of ingots; and the second time this happened
my father suddenly altered his arrangements.

"I can't rest satisfied that all is safe," he said, "when I am away at
the Bay, and this place is only depending upon locks and keys."

"What shall you do then, father?" I asked. "Have a watchman!"

He nodded.

"Who? Old Sam?"

"No," he said; "ourselves, Sep, my lad. It will not be so comfortable,
but while the country is so disturbed we will come and live over here."

No time was lost, and in two days the upper rooms of the counting-house
and store had been filled with furniture, and Kicksey came over for the
day, and went back at night, after cooking and cleaning for us.

As my father said, it was not so comfortable as being at home, but we
were ready enough to adapt ourselves to circumstances; and any change
was agreeable in those days.

Bigley was delighted, for it robbed his rather lonely life of its
dulness, and he never for a moment realised why the change had been
made.

But though we were always on the spot, my father relaxed none of his old
preparations. Every other day there was an hour's drill or sword
practice. Sometimes an evening was taken for the use of the pistols;
and, by degrees, under my father's careful instructions, the little band
of about twelve men had grown into a substantial trustworthy guard of
sturdy fellows, any one of whom was ready to give a good account of
himself should he be put to the test.

At first my father had been averse to Bigley drilling with us, but he
raised no obstacle, for he said to me, "We can let him learn how to use
the weapons, Sep, but it does not follow that he need fight for us."

"And I'm sure he would not fight against us, father," I said laughing.

So Bigley grew to be as handy with the cutlass as any of the men, and no
mean shot with the pistol.

As for Bob Chowne, he came over and drilled sometimes, and he was
considered to be our surgeon--that is, by Bigley and me--but he was not
with us very often, for his father kept him at work studying medicine,
meaning him to be a doctor later on; but, as Bob expressed it, he was
always washing bottles or making pills, though as a fact neither of
these tasks ever came to his share.

Four months--five months--six months had gone by since the adventure
with the cutter, and Bigley had