at our enemies were closely
surrounding us. Whichever way we turned, looking up the hill or down
the valley, the terrific noises seemed to come loudest and most
continuous from that quarter.

Captain Helfrich, as if by the direct appointment of all, took the
command. "Now, my lads, be steady," he exclaimed; "don't throw your
shots away. You'll want all you've got, and a bullet is worth the life
of a foe."

Each man on this grasped his musket; but the negroes held theirs as if
they were very much more afraid of the weapons doing them harm than of
hurting their enemies. The greater number of the lights in the house
had been put out, a few lanterns only remaining here and there,
carefully shaded, to show us our way about. Not a word or a sound was
uttered by any of us, and thus in darkness and silence we awaited the
onslaught of our enemies.

CHAPTER FIVE.

THE PLANTER'S HOUSE BESIEGED.

The Maroons did not leave us long in suspense. Once more uttering the
most fearful and bewildering shrieks, they advanced from every quarter,
completely surrounding, as we judged, the house. For a minute they
halted, and must have fired every musket they had among them. Loopholes
had been left in all the windows, and every now and then I peeped
through one of them, to try and discover what was taking place. There
was just sufficient light to enable me to see the dusky forms of the
rebels breaking through the fences and shrubberies which surrounded the
house. As they arrived, they formed in front, dancing, and shrieking,
and firing off their muskets and blunderbusses in the most irregular
fashion, expending a great deal of gunpowder, but doing us no harm.

Captain Helfrich was watching them. When some hundreds had been thus
collected, he suddenly exclaimed, "Now, my lads, give it them! Don't
throw your shots away on the bushes!"

Obedient to the order, every man in the house fired, and continued
firing as fast as he could load his musket. I dropped on my knee
alongside the arms the captain had appropriated, and as I handed a
loaded musket to him he gave me back the one he had fired, which I
reloaded as rapidly as I could.

This continued for some minutes, the constant shrieks and groans of our
black assailants showing us that the shot frequently took effect. I
believe, indeed, that very few of the captain's missed. Though he fired
rapidly, it was always with coolness and steadiness, and it appeared to
me that h