m. But then his flag would be in danger; and
by their rules of warfare, if the flag were captured or shot down, the
fort was held to have capitulated.

For more than a week before Hal's return from school the others had
been busy getting the ammunition ready; they had dug up a quantity of
sand from the bed of the stream, which, when mixed with a little clay
and moistened with water, represented cannon-balls. As, however, they
had no cannon, these balls had to be thrown by hand; and as they
scattered when they struck, they appeared more formidable than they
really were. But still one had been known to bring down the flag, and
so win the day for the besiegers.

The fort was mainly defended with a catapult loaded with mud pellets,
shot being strictly forbidden as too dangerous. To protect them the
besiegers wore a kind of helmet, which, though it gave them a somewhat
ludicrous appearance, saved them from many a nasty blow. These helmets
were neither more nor less than fine wire-gauze dish-covers, which they
tied across their faces and fastened at the back of their heads. But
the holder of the fort had to rely chiefly upon capture to win a
victory, and when his enemies approached too closely, a bold rush often
resulted in one of them being made prisoner. But, of course, even a
brief absence from the fort left the flag undefended, and there was
always a chance that, while one of the attackers was being pursued,
some of the others might steal up and succeed in going off with the
flag.

So it will be easily understood that courage and skill, combined with a
spirit that was bold and yet not too rash, were required to hold the
fort. And as none of them possessed these qualities to the same extent
as Hal, it followed that none of them held the fort as well as he did,
or made such a good fight of it.

Superintended by Drusie, they all worked very busily at the ammunition,
and as they kneaded cannon-balls and pellets they laid out a plan of
attack for the following Tuesday. Jim was of the opinion that they
never took enough advantage of the shelter afforded by the thick and
almost impenetrable bushes that grew on one side of the fort, and he
proposed that while two of them made an attack in the open air, he or
Drusie should lie concealed, and if Hal could be drawn out in pursuit
they might get a chance of slipping in during his absence.

"He may have brought back some new dodges," said Drusie hopefully. "I
wonder if