ncerned, and then another flash came which enabled me to see that my
companion was, as I had already suspected, my faithful little friend
Ama, and that she was conducting me, by a somewhat circuitous route,
toward the gate in the palisade.

"A thousand thanks to you, Ama, for coming to my help," I murmured in
her ear as I squeezed her hand. "But whither are you taking me? To the
gate? We can never pass it! The guards--"

"They are not there; they are sheltering in the houses close at hand, I
expect; I took care to find out before coming to release you. And now,
Dick, we must be silent," answered Ama, as we cautiously approached the
spot where I knew the gate must be.

Suddenly my guide halted, and pressed herself and me close up against
the wall of a building of some kind, at the same time feeling for my
face in the darkness, and laying her finger on my lips to enjoin perfect
silence. Here we waited for nearly five minutes until another flash of
lightning came, when my companion, having caught a glimpse of her
surroundings, again hurried me forward, and a few seconds later we had
passed through the unguarded gate, closed it behind us, and were rapidly
making our way through the streets of the outer part of the town, in the
direction of the beach. About half-way down, however, we turned sharply
aside and plunged down a narrow lane, which, after some twisting and
turning, at length brought us out clear of the town into a plantain
grove. And all this time we had not seen a single living creature, no,
not so much as a dog; every living thing, save ourselves, had taken
shelter from the fury of the elements, and was not likely to venture
abroad again until it was over.

Still hurrying me forward, Ama led the way through the grove and along
its edge, until we eventually reached a narrow bush path, through which
it was necessary to wend our way circumspectly, for it was now as black
as a wolf's mouth, save when an occasional flicker of lightning from the
now fast-receding storm momentarily lit up our surroundings. We
traversed this path for about half a mile, still maintaining perfect
silence, and at length emerged, quite suddenly, upon a tiny strip of
beach, beyond which hissed and gurgled the stream, already swollen by
the rain. A flash of lightning, that came most opportunely at this
moment, revealed a small light canoe hauled up on the beach, with a
couple of paddles, a sheaf of spears, bows and arrows, and a f