Mrs Seagrave said she would go and examine, and went away into the
house accompanied by Juno.

"This is a very bad business, Ready," observed Mr Seagrave. "What
would we give for a shower of rain now, that we might catch the falling
drops!"

"There are no signs of it, sir," replied Ready; "we must, however, put
our confidence in One who will not forsake us."

"I wish the savages would come on again," observed William; "for the
sooner they come, the sooner the affair will be decided."

"I doubt if they will to-day; at night-time I think it very probable.
We must make preparations for it."

"Why, what can we do, Ready?"

"In the first place, sir, by nailing planks from cocoa-nut tree to
cocoa-nut tree above the present stockade, we may make a great portion
of it much higher, and more difficult to climb over. Some of them were
nearly in, this time. If we do that, we shall not have so large a space
to watch over and defend; and then we must contrive to have a large fire
ready for lighting, that we may not have to fight altogether in the
dark. It will give them some advantage in looking through the
palisades, and seeing where we are, but they cannot well drive their
spears through, so it is no great matter. We must make the fire in the
centre of the stockade, and have plenty of tar in it, to make it burn
bright, and we must not, of course, light it until after we are
attacked. We shall then see where they are trying for an entrance, and
where to aim with our muskets."

"The idea is very good, Ready," said Mr Seagrave; "if it had not been
for this unfortunate want of water, I really should be sanguine of
beating them off."

"We may suffer very much, Mr Seagrave, I have no doubt; but who knows
what the morrow may bring forth?"

"True, Ready. Do you see the savages now?"

"No, sir; they have left the spot where they were in consultation. I
suppose they are busy with their wounded and their dead."

As Ready had supposed, no further attack was made by the savages on that
day, and he, William, and Mr Seagrave, were very busy making their
arrangements; they nailed the planks on the trunks of the trees above
the stockade, so as to make three sides of the stockade at least five
feet higher, and almost impossible to climb up; and they prepared a
large fire in a tar-barrel full of cocoa-nut leaves mixed with wood and
tar, so as to burn fiercely. Dinner or supper they had none, for there
was nothing but salt p