interior of the house, where the exciting interview was in progress.

Captain Barney, on shore as well as at sea, was a thorough disciplinarian.
Of course, he was aware that his proceedings were technically illegal;
that in forcing himself into the house of the squire he was breaking the
law of the land; but it seemed to him to be one of those cases where
prompt action was necessary, and the law was too tardy to be of any
service. He was, however, determined that the business should be done with
as little violence as possible, and he had instructed the citizens at the
bridge to do no needless injury to the property or the feelings of the
squire or his family.

When he entered the house, he had stationed three men at the door to
prevent any of the people from following him. He had also directed them
not to enter the yard or grounds of the house until he gave the signal.
These directions proved a great hardship to the boys in the crowd, and
they were completely disgusted when they saw the flag thrown loose from
the front window.

The mansion of Squire Pemberton was an old-fashioned dwelling, about a
hundred feet from the road. In front of it was a green lawn, adorned with
several large buttonwood trees. There was no fence to enclose what was
called the front yard. The crowd was assembled on this lawn, and agreeably
to the directions of the leader, or chairman of the committee, none of
them passed into the yard in the rear and at the end of the house, which
was separated from the lawn by a picket fence.

Boys are instinctively curious to know what is going on, and the "living
room" of the squire, in which the exciting conversation was taking place,
was in the rear of the house. The windows on the front were dark and