The Island School — page 284: what you’re looking at

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

; | | | | | i afar se) - | . ": a ieee . : Lees ak onto Aileen . uf ee) £ > = 4 we ed ici EWE es ait fone a ae is : 1€ self, naving : all the spirit ce a ee oan De as ie was os. but the ties outs were pretty Ie | it hout that wonderful woman's virtues.” =~. ~—'! filled. “In one there were twenty men, and in none a G d . Farrell groaned, and clenched his hands. less than ten. There were at least a hundred men _ i“ ‘Was there ever man tormented as I am?” he | im all, vied. =4 | | Se yO _ There was something bordering on the ludicrous i in , | | ‘the impotent anger of the schoolmaster. And that CHAPTER CXXX. was the view Eveline took of it. She blushed with Pah: Lae ‘shame, and Jim, turning aur feigned not to heed WARM WORK THREATENED.—MORSE WILL BLOCK : him, , , THE WAY.» “You had better go inside,” said Eveline, Scand | , “eave everything to Gordon.” : | “ Of course,” said Jim, without turning round, oy ay be mistaken. It may only ue a small. fishing Befeet es i: “s “You think so! ” murmured Mr. Farrell, eagerly he catching at a straw of hope. , ia “T trust so,’ returned Jim. oe Terry had done his work well, for the boys now | | - came hurrying in, and Mr. EE beat a retreat. a Were awoman — ae i eye went with him. will go,” remarked _ Among other things Jim had lately iAnba toad was | Morse, fhoucHeralle. “there are few men. who willnot ia ‘i i: a series of bugle-calls, on the military. principle: Lal | follow. Shame acts asa stimulant.” aa == the performer on an old key-bugle, which | “I would rather there were two Reonardos with a | _ had been unearthed from among the odds and ends | two hundred men,” said Ji im, “ than Lucia di Valo die oy hurriedly brought up when the schoolhouse was on | with that lot at her call.” | fire. ” . r The boats had entered the neck of the lagoon, and In obedience to Jim’s command he now sounded the | were temporarily lost sight of. But they soon reap- a | 4 assembly,”. _and everyone in the castle, excepting the | peared in the open, and, led by the craft of Lucia di a - Farrells and Miss Hlegantine, foregathered there. Valo, ran inshore. Me ea Jim had a muster-roll, which he read out, and all They grounded side by side, and as the men leant dl un ss q HUNDRED men led by that woman,” | said Jim,“may be considered danger- ; “What a she- fiend shemustbe!” muttered Martin. — p ‘i ~ _ were there. The next thing to be done was to appoint | ent the watchers saw that each boat, save that of * the various men and boys to their respective duties. | Lucia di Valo, was heavily laden. The men had’ ~ _ This was done, and the gates closed and made fast. brought arms, tents, food, drink, and ammunition. — be a ‘Then came the consideration of using the two small They were too far off to take men count of their ae a of ordnance as a means of defence. physique with the naked eye, but Jim with his glass i _ They could be fired from the ramparts, but only at | could see them as clearly as if they were but a few eae reat j inconvenience, and with disproportionate effect. | feet away. / a Jim thought of Terry’s original plan of firing through “ A rough and fonah lot,” he said. “ There are oa the portcullis from the je and decided to Ltont lot of half-caste men among them. Some have as it, , with improvements. many as half a dozen weapons in their belts? == _ A brief consultation with Sleery, the carpenter, ‘What are those two big packages they are lifting Gia gave him the welcome intelligence that a movable | out of the biggest boat?” “ign Morse. . ‘ag San could be easily constructed from materials | Jim turned his glass in that direction, and saw " ah ready in the castie. There was indeed a considerable | that twenty men were required to lift a single pack- ye if store of wood there gathered for fuel, and sored away | age. It was something like a big post, ween ine in the back lower offices, | matting. = “Get it done as soon as possible,” said Jim, and He was puzzled for a moment, and then a vient ‘ 1en with Morse and Martin he reascended to the | broke in upon him. 4 ramparts to reconnoitre. | , “They have brought two pieces of artillery with “a Enere were seven boats in all, varying - in size, and | them,” he breathlessly exclaimed. 4 they, were making for the lagoon. The leading one z Tney must be bigger than our poor little pop- 8 8 small, and Jim had no difficulty in- recognising guns.” a nn Valo’ s little craft. The form of a woman in ‘Bigger, Morse! Ten times the size. They have a , steering, he judged was Lucia, whieh subse- unrolled one. It looks to me like an old twenty- wy ae ie 7 i aN, is) ONE aY | pounder from a man-of-war.” | a CASS oe Ha, Sana ee fe bt A ge oat eid: Mh fg. we 4 Hea is 1 vat Pr 4 ¢o my ¢c be oXo} ks.c 0 Uw edt Te Rte AM Nin