On the timber, bark from the now disused pits was heaped to a depth of
some feet, which would effectually break the fall of any shell which
might light upon it, and, along the front of this low triangular
building, two lines of sacks filled with tan were placed. These would
suffice to prevent any fragment of a shell, which might fall and burst in
the courtyard, from entering the shelter; save by the opening, about a
foot deep, between the top of the sacks and the beams.

When the whole was completed, John gathered the children there, and made
it their headquarters, and established himself as captain of the castle,
as he called it.

The elders entered warmly into his plans. It was a great relief, to them,
to have the house cleared of the eighteen or twenty children. Their
mothers had no longer any anxiety for their safety, and the children
themselves looked upon it as great fun. There was plenty of air here,
and, in a short time, John persuaded the parents to allow the children to
sleep, as well as to pass the day, in the shelter. Here he told them
stories, constructed toys for them, and kept them amused and quiet,
appointing as his lieutenants three or four of the oldest of the girls,
who had the little ones under their special charge. John was rewarded,
for his pains, by seeing that the children kept their health far better
than did those of their neighbours, and, up to the end of May, not one of
them had succumbed, although several of the parents had already fallen
victims to dysentery and fever.

Thus the month of May passed. With June, the hardships rapidly increased;
but, on the 13th, shouts of joy were heard in the streets. John ran out
to ascertain the cause, and learned that a fleet of thirty ships had