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  CHAPTER VII

  THE SIEGE

  'No, Mr. Allan,' Duncan was declaring, 'if I wass you, I would not petelling the laird whateffer; it can do no good pringing honest folkinto trouble.'

  'But they are not honest folk if they're smugglers,' interposed Reggie,who had been listening to the conversation without joining in.

  A peculiar expression flitted across Duncan's face.

  'Well, but, Mr. Allan,' he maintained; 'I'm just telling you, that itwill pe petter if you will not pe telling the laird; you will only pemeking trouble in the island and will pe doing no good at ahl, at ahl.'

  'But what if it was they who robbed the post-office?' said Allan.

  'Robbed the post-office, Mr. Allan!' cried Duncan; 'what will they pedoing that for? Not them, Mr. Allan! So do not pe meking trouble bytelling the laird----'

  'But we _have_ told him,' said Reggie.

  'Dear, dear, Mr. Allan and Master Reggie,' said Duncan with a vexedface; 'what will you haf peen doing that for? That wass a treatfulthing to do, to pe tale-bearers. Tear me; and what iss to pe done now?'

  'But, Duncan, smuggling is against the law, and it will be their ownfault----'

  'Well, but, Mr. Allan, you will pe for punishing folks that iss notdeserving to pe punished if you do such a foolish thing ass to pringthe police to them, and--och! Mr. Allan, Mr. Allan, why can't youngfolks hev some sense! What iss to pe done now, after all you youngladies and gentlemen hev tone such a senseless thing!'

  Duncan's evident excitement showed that argument was in vain; and therewas something in his manner that tended to convince the boys, againsttheir better judgment, that they had done wrong in speaking of theirdiscovery. They wandered down to the cricket-field, where the Grahamswere indulging in a solitary practice.

  'We'd better go and play with these fellows,' said Allan; 'we can'tleave them to amuse themselves all the time.'

  Presently the sound of wheels caused them to look round, and they sawthe doctor's gig turning in at the gate, with Tricksy on the front seatbeside Dr. MacGregor, and Marjorie and Hamish behind.

  'Brought you back the missing one,' cried the doctor to Mrs. Stewart,who had come to the door to meet them; 'none the worse for her bath;'and Tricksy jumped down and ran into the playing field followed moreslowly by the other two.

  'Come along and have a game,' cried Reggie; but the new-comers appearedto have something on their minds. They stood eyeing one another in anembarrassed way; Hamish looking sheepish and Marjorie mischievous;while Tricksy's little flushed face was breaking into dimples, and bothgirls displayed an inclination to giggle.

  'Wait a minute,' whispered Tricksy, as Allan came towards them, andMarjorie said to her in a sharp undertone, 'Go on, can't you, and don'tbe silly.'

  Thus admonished, Tricksy composed herself into gravity and produced alarge piece of cardboard with ornamental lettering from which she readthe following:--

  PROCLAMATION

  TO THE BOYS OP ARDNAVOIR

  We, the undersigned, hereby declare war against you. We challenge youto open combat at our Fort. You must give us warning at what date andtime you will attack us. Any advantage gained in not attending tothese rules will be considered unfair. Any weapons allowed exceptstones.

  (_Signed_) 'HAMISH MACGREGOR, 'MARJORIE, 'TRICKSY.'

  'Our Fort is the hut, of course, in you-know-where,' added Marjorie;'and the challenging party have the right to choose whether they willbe besiegers or defenders, advantages to be as equal as possible.That's all,' she concluded, with a sudden lapse into her usual manner.

  The two new boys had been listening with all their might.

  'Whatever does she mean?' they asked in an aside, turning to Reggie.

  'It's a challenge,' said Reggie. 'Let's hear what Allan says.'

  Allan was considering.

  'Shall we accept now, Reggie?' he asked.

  Reggie thought the combat might as well take place without delay; andAllan replied to the Proclamation in these terms:

  'The Challenge is accepted. We will meet you at the Fort. You will bethe garrison, as there are fewer of you, and we'll attack.--Come along.'

  'Call the dogs, Reggie,' said Marjorie. 'Do you like sieges?' sheasked Gerald, as they were on their way to the shore.

  'Awful fun,' replied the fair-haired boy, whose pink and white face wasfast becoming tanned by wind and sun.

  'What weapons are to be used?' asked Marjorie, turning quickly to theothers.

  'Turfs,' replied Allan, 'and lumps of wet sea-weed if you like.'

  Marjorie gave a little jump as though she were pleased.

  The boat was launched, and cut swiftly through the transparent water,while the new boys looked around with expectant faces.

  'What an awfully jolly place,' they said, as they sprang out on thebeach. 'Awful fun, having an island of your own to do as you likewith.'

  'Half-an-hour allowed for gathering ammunition,' called out Marjorie.'We'll show Harry and Gerald over the place when we've had our fight.We had better defend from the roof of the cottage, for we might pulldown the walls if we defended from the inside.'

  Some time was spent in digging clods of turf, a quantity of which waspiled on the roof of the hut for the defenders, while the attackersdisposed theirs in little heaps at a short distance from the fort.

  'Now for the sea-weed,' cried Marjorie; 'nothing like getting a heap ofwet tang thrown in your face when you're fighting.'

  The tide was far out, and quantities of wet sea-weed lay exposed on therocks.

  'No stones to be taken,' said Allan, sawing through the tough, thickstalks with a large pocket-knife.

  'How do you like our way of playing?' asked Marjorie of Harry, as shepassed him, grasping in each hand a mass of wet sea-weed which drippeddown on her frock and shoes.

  'Awful fun,' replied the boy, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

  'Come along then, I think we've got enough.'

  She swung herself nimbly on to the roof, followed by Hamish andTricksy. The wind was freshening, and sang in their ears, making themfeel excited and eager for the fray.

  'It's rather stormy,' said Harry; 'do you think we'll get back?'

  'Of course,' said Marjorie; 'why, this is nothing! We like it to be alittle stormy, it's better fun. Call the others,' and they shouted forthe rest of the attacking party, who came hurrying, armed withmissiles. Laddie and Carlo followed in the rear, suspending theiroperations among the rabbit burrows to see what was going to happen.

  'To your post, Gerald,' shouted Allan; and Gerald made a dart towardsthe besiegers, just in time to avoid being caught in a rain of clodswhich hurtled through the air.

  Allan and Reggie showed great dexterity in avoiding the missiles, butHarry and Gerald, not having had so much practice in this kind ofwarfare, acted the part of unwilling targets, and their neat suits weresoon bespattered with mud.

  'All in the day's work, eh?' said Allan, as he hurried past Gerald, whowas somewhat ruefully wiping the dirt off his cheek with one hand;'Awful fun, isn't it?'

  'Awfully jolly,' assented Gerald, trying not to think that in thebottom of his heart there was a doubt.

  A fresh shower of sods came from the cottage, accompanied by shoutsboth from besiegers and besieged; and Laddie, who had been looking onwith a puzzled face and trying to make out what was the matter, came tothe conclusion that his young friends were engaged in deadly warfare,and rushed between the opposing sides with a bark and a wagging tail,bent upon making peace.

  'Down, Laddie, down,' shouted Allan, as the dog jumped up to lick hisface, after running frenziedly from one side to the other; 'trust, sir!Go and lie down;' and Laddie, looking heart-broken, retired to the turfdyke and lay watching the fray in consternation.

  The battle raged long and furiously, neither side appearing to gain theadvantage.

  The attacking party pressed round the walls of the cottage, only to bebeaten back by the projectiles which were showered upon them.
Nervingthemselves to fresh efforts, they rushed to the attack, Allan calm,Reggie intrepid, and the two Grahams animated by the wildest excitement.

  Seeing one spot undefended, Gerald made a dash for it, and had alreadyone foot on the wall, preparatory to scaling the cottage, when 'swish'came a lump of sea-weed in his face; and before he had recovered fromthe shock a pair of strong hands seized him and Marjorie's voiceshouted, 'A prisoner!'

  A wild rush was made to effect a rescue, but Hamish came to Marjorie'sassistance, and Gerald was pulled kicking and struggling up on the roof.

  'Now you had better sit down quietly,' said Hamish; 'you can watch thefight from behind the chimney,' and Gerald was reluctantly obliged toremain inactive.

  Furious at the loss of one of their number, the attacking partyprecipitated themselves against the walls of the fort and the battlebecame fiercer than ever. For some time the issue appeared doubtful,but gradually the besiegers gained a footing on the walls from whichthey could not be dislodged. Panting, buffeted, they forced their wayupwards, while the defenders rained blows and clods upon them.

  With a shout of victory, Allan had swung himself on to the roof, when acry of dismay was raised.

  'The roof is giving way!'

  Hastily they all jumped, and not a minute too soon, for some gapingholes appeared in the thatch, and there was a rumble of falling stones.

  'It's all right,' panted Marjorie; 'we can put that right in amorning's work. Oh, wasn't it a first-rate fight!'

  'Capital,' agreed the others, and Tricksy's voice piped in. 'I foughtvery well too, didn't I, Marjorie?'

  'Oh, very well,' replied Marjorie, who had been greatly hampered byTricksy getting in her way at critical moments. 'But I think we allneed a rest now, don't we?'

  No second suggestion was needed; and they all flung themselves on theground and lay where they were, letting the sea-breeze blow upon theirheated faces.

  'Awfully jolly,' murmured Gerald; 'I should like to have a fight likethat every day.'

  Harry lay stretched out with a restless face looking about him witheyes that sparkled notwithstanding his fatigue, and kicking his heelswhen he had the energy to do so. Had he been less completelyexhausted, he would have got up and explored the island, taking Geraldwith him, but a cricket match and a siege in one afternoon, following along walk in the morning, are as much as most boys are capable of.

  Presently Reggie jumped up.

  'Allan,' he said, 'don't you think we ought to be going?'

  Allan looked at the waves which were beginning to jostle one another inmid-channel.

  'Just about time,' he said.

  'Couldn't we show them the inside of the house first,' said Marjorie;'it won't take a minute.'

  'All right,' said Allan, 'but we must be quick.'

  'Is this where you stay when it is wet,' said Harry, as they pushedopen the door of the cottage. 'What a jolly place. Can you lightfires on the hearth?'

  'Of course we can,' said Marjorie, 'and bake bannocks--why, Allan; someone has been here since we left!'

  'Nonsense,' said Allan, looking about him. 'Why, I declare, some onehas!'

  'There has been a fresh fire lighted on the hearth,' said Marjorie,'and the things are not as we left them. There are marks likefootprints on the floor too.'

  'What impudence,' said Reggie, with a darkening face. 'We must put upa notice board. No one has any business to come here except ourselves.'

  Allan had been looking about him, and he suddenly darted forward andtook possession of some object lying upon the floor. After a glance atit he turned white, gave an odd little gasp and slipped it into hispocket.

  'What is it, Allan?' asked the others, crowding around.

  'Nothing,' he said; 'nothing at all. I don't think any one has beenhere; it's all fancy.'

  Reggie's eyes looked very much astonished at this change of front.

  'Come along,' said Allan impatiently; 'it's time we went home,' and heswept them out of the cottage with so much decision that they obeyed,looking at him with puzzled faces.

  'Hulloa!' cried Hamish; 'we had better be going.'

  'Going?' echoed Allan; 'why, yes, we have no time to lose. Come along,all of you.'

  'What's the matter?' asked Harry of Marjorie as they hurried towardsthe boat.

  'It's a very high tide,' she said. 'Soon there will be a dangerouscurrent flowing between the two islands, and if we get into it we mightbe swept out to sea. We are allowed to have the boat on condition thatwe watch the tide-ways; so we have to be careful.'

  It took some hard rowing to gain the opposite shore; and when they hadlanded, Reggie turned to Hamish. 'A near thing that, eh, Hamish?' hesaid; and they all looked at the dark swift current which filled thechannel.

  'Ten minutes later, and we couldn't have crossed,' said Marjorie.'What do you think, Allan?'

  Despite the danger so recently escaped, Allan's thoughts werewandering. He looked round abstractedly, and slid into his pocket someobject which he had been turning over unobserved; and Reggie fancied hecaught a glimpse of a sailor's knife with some elaborate carving on thehandle.

  Reggie looked at his brother with a gleam of curiosity in his eyes.

  'Come along,' said Allan authoritatively; 'don't let's stand dawdlingabout.'