The wind that dashed the rain-drops in gusts on the panes seemed to
whistle a warning, and the splash of the water outside was as the
muttering of a tale of melancholy in an unknown tongue.
I concealed my fears and depressions from the men, and with the
lighting of the lamps made my dispositions to meet any attack that
might come. I had satisfied myself that the rear bedroom, that faced
the south, could not be entered from the outside without the aid of
ladders. The parlor showed a sheer drop to the street on the west, and
I felt assured we were safe on that side. But the front windows of the
parlor, and the front bedroom which joined it, opened on the veranda
roof in common with a dozen other rooms. Inside, the hallway, perhaps
eight feet wide and twenty-five feet long, offered the only approach to
our rooms from the stairs. The situation was not good for defense, and
at the thought I had a mind even then to seek other quarters.
It was too late for such a move, however, and I decided to make the
best of the position. I placed the boy in the south bedroom, which
could be reached only through the parlor. With him I placed Wainwright
and Fitzhugh, the two strongest men of the party. The north bedroom,
opening on the hallway, the veranda roof and the parlor, looked to be
the weakest part of my position, but I thought it might be used to
advantage as a post of observation. The windows were guarded with
shutters of no great strength. We closed and secured those of the
parlor and the inner bedroom as well as possible.
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