The Island School — page 203: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

2) y We pe * ) / r 7 ¢ 1 i ESAT, . ty Me p t4 h Ge , ; si a my ' . } 4 7 Pa . 1a) zy = an 4 A oP A’ ‘ re FP) ay Uf iy, ‘ ‘te ak AS Ae ary fryer Qs atuy “¢ Ap ee: iva Pts a ip iy ed ay OV ARS Tle et ‘i hia Wah wit A wnt » 4 - of tm i hy ae hal . iia ¢ an Che Ot URE ORIN USA RA ce a Ae ane Lees er ame Oya “THE ne Aa place for the day.” aw! ty - Could you hear what they were talking Mae o” — together, or nearly so, I had a difficulty in ed: at hyn Zs = « Well, Ef im, opinion was aided Some thought zr > had been taken off the island by some passing Bt ... ates part of the island, and a few were sure we had come on to the castle. They talked of the two me explosions which had taken place, and attributed them a pater mines. They were also eloquent on Charley, the _ bear, and, as I judged, they held him in dread. ‘ Still,’ a said one, ‘he is not bullet-proof, and we have most of a a our guns again.’ ” a * “ How many of them did you see ?” asked Jim. oh ati All, I should say,” replied Morse; “all who sur- BP ive. ‘There are fifty-two of them, and thirty-odd i - have long, old-fashioned rifles. All have knives and Oe revolvers. | ' Jim made a primace, and thoughtfully drummed Shi fingers on the table ere he answered. ae ae “ A strong body for us to contend with—that is, if aS t ay we wait to be attacked. We ought to take the initia- ce ie tive, PBN ey “T heard them talk of sending a scouting party in : oe direction of the castle to-night,” said Morse. _ “Flalf a dozen men at the outside,” said Jim, “and, Mi with the gates closed, they will be able to do Baie - Morse, we must attack them from the direction of fe - the cave.” _© Fifty-two men, Jim ?” ___“ Yes, and fifty-one less of us could play havoc with _ them by stealing out at dusk. Fancy the effect of a _ rattling fire into the thick of them as they sit jabber- Coat _ ing round une fire. They are sure to light one, if only ; - for company.” «iE would denorelien them,’ remarked Morse; oa ae “but you must have a cool lot with you, in case we a have to skedaddle back.” {J will take all the men and the pick of the boys,” said Jin, “ including yourself. Terry alone, out of _ the council, I propose to spare, and leave him in com- vs mand. It is the thing to do—the only thing.” me -“Tagree with you,” Morse said, “and 1 must be one of your party. Out of a few old meat-tins I think I can manufacture a bomb or two that will - Ronee them sit up or lie down.” re “There is not much time to spare,” said Jim. ~— ¥ ' Lt 7 a V + Ne 1 ¥, ; * a sar ree Ee . ae ih a nn) bles ma iia ) ISLAND Hiss were simply a gang of ‘Spanish gipsios Enel in a is te gers out of the mouth of the cave and stole But as | Others fancied we had simply cleared out to | kn ae fo Oe a ae! eae Uk fica cet ; A) Hy 7] ea i Ai eae i ‘ apie ¢ a . a Ae fast By ; «iy sha Pts, held ans out,” rep lie dj M Tse 5 we must hold off until dusk. Hse i ens i all eager to share in it. A ie Ni The task of selecting weapons iaatde a. th were in order was entrusted to Martin. _tridges there were about four apiece. — B cond when Morse could get his new supply of charcoal, | hi would go in for manufacturing powder | on a larger ne scale. Meanwhile there was about a pound loose, which Terry having discovered, quietly el Alig for a purpose to be iene explained. re a While the preparations were being made, Tin saw aa nothing of Eveline, but he was anxious - to come a across her, and make things right, it he mo “nob i 4 succeed in explaining them. — Mis Me 3 ! But he could only meet with Mrs. Farrell, aN 10 oe i“ every hour rose more to the position, and. devalopad br unsuspected pluck. Jim asked for Eveline, and ‘was si told she was in her room with a headache. Bats ra ‘eh ae H) Jim was for ma concerned about peti but was pat Ni, ee | : Sa a eee before. 3 Romeo, hearing of penar ceed of some aoe going ‘ ei on, presented himself before Jim with the object of © as being taken on as arecruit. ButJim had home ene forhim. It was to keep guard over the two women a with Charley, the bear. | be as “Do it on the quiet,” said Jim. “I rile wish it Nod Ae done as an extra precaution, although I think there a is nothing to fear. I shall be away for an hour ons j two with Morse and a few others.” ! ary ag “Better not tell Miss Ebeline dat,” whispered oe Romeo. . aa i “Well, perhaps not,” said Jim, after a “moment's Pe thought. AN Bh x Terry took kindly to the position of commande i ar of the castle in the absence of the two friends he ey Re called “ the big guns,” and he harangued those left in PA his charge in the courtyard, while the rest in the ie big hall Fr epred for their attack on thefoe. San The spirit of the whole school was excellent. Rae: Possibly living in a higher and more exhilarating ke atmosphere may have had something to do with it, aa or the mere novelty of their surroundings may have Um raised their spirits; but the fact remained that they — me showed none of the trepidation one might have looked baa for in boys so situated. 7 | They cheered Terry as their tahoe Iéader, and then made the most of the daylight by playing all Bai Bee a he RS al} Pts els oe J sorts of boyish games in the courtyard. | oe en re: eee . Neer as pean. ce exercise | of in, onuity wast ie At . Geel is me Co eok a oe see A ae Net oh Ss i @ Viel eveye 0