s,
and the latter gave chase, while pistol-shots and yells rent the air.

Instead of wasting more breath in useless entreaty, Brown seized the
light form of Hester in his arms and ran with her to the ramparts. In
the confusion of the general skirmish he was not observed--or, if
observed, unheeded--by any one but Sally, who followed him in anxious
haste, thinking that the man was mad, for there could be no possible way
of escape, she thought, in that direction. She was wrong. There was
method in Brown's madness. He had for a long time previously studied
all the possibilities with reference to the meditated uprising, and had
laid down for himself several courses which he might pursue according to
the success, failure, or partial failure of their plans.

There was one part of the rampart they were engaged in repairing at that
time which had given way and partly fallen into the ditch outside. The
portion of the wall still remaining had been further demolished in order
that a more secure foundation might be laid. The broken wall here had
been but partially rebuilt, and was not nearly as high as the completed
wall. A jump from this might be possible to a strong active man if the
ground below were soft, or even level--though the risk of broken limbs
was considerable.

Brown had observed, however, that at this place a small tree grew out
from a mass of rock which had been incorporated as part of the wall, and
that just below it there stood a huge bush of the cactus kind. To these
two he had made up his mind to intrust himself in the event of things
coming to the worst.

Accordingly it was to this part of the rampart he ran with Hester in his
strong arms. We have said that Sally ran after the sailor with anxiety,
but that feeling was deepened into dismay when she saw him approach the
portion of the wall just described, and she gave out one of her loudest
coffee-pestle gasps when she saw him jump straight off the wall without
a moment's hesitation.

Craning her neck and gazing downward, she saw the sailor go crashing
through the little tree and alight with a squash in the heart of the
watery cactus, out of which he leaped with such agility that Sally was
led to exclaim under her breath--

"Hoh! don't de spikes make 'im jump!"

Whether it was the spikes or other influences we cannot tell, but
certain it is that Brown did jump with wonderful activity, considering
the burden he carried, dashed up the opposite bank,