you quite sure that this elixir or
essence of yours may be depended upon to produce the effect stated?"

"I am," answered Stukely, with a smile, "for I have already tested it
upon myself--no matter how--and the effect is everything that can
possibly be desired."

"Then--what say you, gentles--shall we allow the surgeon to go with Mr
Chichester and further test the efficacy of his decoction upon the
Spanish sentinels?" asked the master.

"'Twould be folly in us if we did not avail ourselves of the virtues of
Mr Stukely's most fortunate discovery," said Winter; "and I for one am
in favour of acceding to his proposal."

"And I, also," agreed Dick, in response to a glance from Bascomb.

The two gentlemen adventurers, when appealed to for their opinion, at
once agreed that the experiment was quite worth trying; and Bascomb's
proposal was accordingly agreed to _nem. con_.

"That matter, then, is disposed of," remarked Bascomb. "Now, the next
thing which we have to decide is this--assuming that Mr Chichester
succeeds in spiking the guns of the forts--what is to be our next step?
Are we to take the ship boldly into the harbour and proceed with our
business of capturing the galleon and the town, trusting that Dame
Fortune will so far favour us as to permit of our getting out again
before the soldiers can unspike their guns; or should we anchor, as soon
as inside, land a strong party, and capture and destroy the forts before
attempting anything else? It is the guns, and they only, not the forts,
which we have to fear; and if we could but permanently disable those
guns, the forts and their garrisons might go hang, so far as we are
concerned."

"Certainly, sir," cut in Dick, before anyone else could speak. "You
have hit the nail on the head. We need trouble about naught except the
ordnance, and them we must destroy. And I know how to do it, too. We
will take with us enough powder to double charge each gun; having done
which we will seal their muzzles with clay. I know where to find as
much clay as we shall need; and then we will prime each piece, lay a
quick match from priming to priming, light the match, and run for our
lives. The guns will burst, and we can then do what we please with the
galleon and the town. But in order to ensure complete success, the
ordnance in both batteries must be fired as nearly as possible at the
same moment; therefore a resolute man must be left in the lower battery
to fire the match u