While this little by play was being enacted, she stepped to the open window again and said: "John Green, you and your friends had better go away or the men will surely fire on you." At this, point the herder, myself and my sisters commenced stamping on the floor in imitation of a squad of soldiers, and the herder issued his orders in a loud voice to his imaginary troops, who were apparently approaching the window preparatory to firing a volley at the enemy.

This little stratagem proved eminently successful.

The cowardly villains began retreating, and then my mother fired an old gun into the air which greatly accelerated their speed, causing them to break and run.

They soon disappeared from view in the darkness.
The next morning we accidentally discovered that they had intended to blow up the house.

Upon going into the cellar which had been left open on one side, we found two kegs of powder together with a fuse secreted there.