nd.

"Perhaps I was, daughter; but I hardly think so. Some kinds of craft
will bear a good deal of ballast. But all our young Brownies are alike;
they will have their freaks and larks no matter how serious affairs may
be. However, these lads are among the most skillful soldiers in camp,
and they will be none the worse either for their fun or their
punishment. The rogues! What a lark it was!" And in spite of the heavy
burden on his heart, he smiled at the remembrance of the adventures
which had been told him. "It seems the climax of absurdity that a mere
squad of youngsters should plan an assault upon a strong fort, and
actually gain possession of it too, by a freak of fortune!"

[Illustration: FIG. 84.--"They Entered the Leafy Towers."]

Now orders were given to raze the empty fort. The Brownies had been keen
to enter and destroy the place as soon as Twadeils had reported its
abandonment; but MacWhirlie forbade action until Captain Bruce's return.
The eager soldiers swarmed over the barricades, through the gates, and
along the vacant streets. They entered the leafy towers in search of
lurking foemen, and finding none cut the binding threads and let the
leaves unroll. They severed the stay ropes of the conning tower of Pixie
Thaddeus, and the whole structure collapsed. As the repaired suspension
bridge stood intact, and the shore was strewn with the litter of a hasty
flight, the manner of the Pixies' escape was easily explained. But the
whereabouts of the garrison was not made out on account of the fog that
overhung the lake. That however was lifting, and the Pixie fleet would
soon be in sight. The soldiers went to work heartily. Breastworks,
barricades, gates, towers, walls, ramparts, bridge and piers were
assailed with such zeal and vigor, that in a short time the remnants of
Fort Spinder were laid in pieces upon the ground, flying in fragments
through the air, or floating in broken bits upon the water.

[Illustration: FIG. 85.--"They Cut the Binding Threads."]

By the time this good work was finished the sun had scattered the fog,
and left the face of the lake quite clear. Little columns and clouds of
mist still hung here and there, leaving distant objects indistinct, but
both fleets were in sight. The Brownies crowded down to the bank, and
from every elevation and tree top watched the battle. The Stygians
pushing out of Big Cave Harbor, and the Natties coming into sight around
the foot of the island; the manoeuvr