When I went to my chamber I found my sword and pistols laid in readiness by my bedside,--and smiled at the superfluous care of Luke, who, I supposed, had placed them there. Through the open casement of my window came the rustle of leaves and the whisper of the wind among the reeds, and once or twice a faint twitter of some bird dreaming on his perch. The stillness was sweet to ears which had been vexed o' nights with the noise of drunken gamblers, horse-laughs, and oaths and shouting. The holy quietness and my happy thoughts soothed me soon to sleep, from which I was awakened by a great glare of fire through the window. Before I had gathered my wits, I heard a shuffling as of many feet, and as I sprang out of bed and huddled on my clothes, a shot rang, then other shots were fired, and a general hubbub arose. As I opened my door, Doctor Goel came out of the room opposite to mine, candle in hand, and Anna and her maid appeared immediately afterwards. We descended to the parlour together, the uproar without increasing every moment, shouts in Dutch and in English, clash of steel, crash of stones against woodwork, discharge of firearms, roar and crackle of burning, and the trampling of a mob hither and thither. It was the more confounding to me that I had observed on entering the settlement how guns had been placed to command the gates, and the doctor had mentioned other means of defence which had been adopted since the last assault. I said something of this, and Anna answered-- "Do you not hear the cry 'Treachery'? The Islonians have opened the gates, after over-powering the guard." I blew out the candle, and then drew one of the shutters back a little way, and looked out. By the blaze of some building which I could not see, but which some one said must be the guard-house everything was illumed almost as if by daylight. The thick of the tumult was now at some distance beyond us westward, but men were fighting in twos and threes here and there quite near us. I had said something of rushing out to bring Mr. Ulceby and his man to our company, when a rabble of men and women came up, crying, "The witch!" and in the forefront of them the mad-woman and another old hag capered and yelled like demons. They were guided by some one who knew the doctor's house, for I had no sooner closed and bolted the shutter than they began to smash the window-panes, redoubling their cries. Pressing danger will at times quicken my slow wits, but I was at a non-plus now. The best that I could do, methought, was to stand at bay and hope for some unforeseen deliverance. And in truth that seemed nigh at hand all on a sudden. The rabble screamed and shouted as if they were being driven off. Several shots banged close to our ears. A thundering rap was made at the door, and Sheffield's voice called out-- "Doctor Goel, open; it is I, your friend Sheffield." "Yes, open, doctor," said I, "but say nothing of me. God sends devils on His good errands sometimes."