’No one shall blame thee, dear Etta,’ said the boy, ’or if they do, I will offer single combat.’ And Carlo went through his military exercises with great show and laughter, till Catalina and some slaves arrived, and desired the young people to come and help with the defence of the castle by taking away all the valuables and hiding them in the dungeons below or in a well under the flags of the inner courtyard. Carlo was very angry at this order of his father’s: it seemed to presuppose the taking of Santa Teresa. ’As if the pirates would ever enter this stronghold!’ he said impatiently. ’If I may be allowed to speak, I will offer to lead out a party from Santa Teresa, and the robbers will see something worth seeing then. I must go and find my father and persuade him.’ In spite of his objection, however, Carlo, as well as every one else, had to work with a will within the walls of Santa Teresa; whilst the Marquis, hardly able to hide his fears, paced restlessly up and down without the castle, often sending negro scouts on all sides to ascertain the real truth; but he got such contradictory answers that he half feared the negroes were too much afraid to venture near enough to the advancing enemy to ascertain how matters stood. CHAPTER V. THE SCOUTS. The council of war presided over by the Marquis took place late that afternoon; and Carlo, bent on proving his capabilities as a soldier, slipped in with the officers and various Spaniards in authority who had been able to leave their several stations to join in the discussion. The Marquis was so much disturbed and troubled that he took no heed of his son, for as the officers entered the private room of the Governor the sound of cannon was distinctly heard in the distance, much to the dismay of many present. ’Those are the guns of St. Jerome,’ said one of the officers. ’The enemy must have reached the bridge, and we may expect them here by sunset. Shall we give the order for all the neighbouring guns to fire, sir.’ ’That will not be necessary,’ answered the Marquis, testily. ’How many guns are there at St. Jerome? Surely enough to drive these robbers back to their boats?’ ’We have eight, Señor, at St. Jerome, and those will play freely on them; they will be caught in a trap.’ ’Well, then, that will settle them. We know they cannot advance up the river below this hill.’ ’Only a canoe could reach us here, and that would hold but a few men,’ said Don Francisco. ’The blacks declare that Captain Morgan has only four hundred men with him; if so, there will be no great difficulty.’ ’Nay, but the Indian Andreas,’ said Carlo, ’has just told me they are more like a thousand strong. I believe Andreas is the only scout who gets near enough to know.’ Carlo had an especial liking for Andreas, who often accompanied him out into the woods to kill the birds. He was a very sharp fellow, and knew every turn and winding in the islands.