Arthur was a wary man, seldom off his guard,

Chapter I

38 THE MCDONALD PAPERS

and before he gave the tea hunters a direct answer, had the address to draw from them to object of their visit. He then accompanied them a short distance, and after having care-fully indicated to them, the most circuitous of all the routes that led to his domicile, he himself took the shortest direction back, in order to put his castle in a posture of defense. This he was better enabled to do than most men would have been, for the females of his household were numerous and warlike; four of them being remarkable for prowess and personal strength, that is to say, his wife, her two maiden sisters, and an African girl, who was, or had been, a slave with a scarred face and ferocious aspect. Having warned his help-mate of the approaching danger, and having had a long experience of her energy in emergencies, Arthur quietly withdrew, being himself a man of peace and averse to female broils. When at length the enemy appeared and surrounded the house, its Amazonian mistress was ready for them, and "laughed a siege to scorn," having previously barricaded the doors and windows of the lower story, and armed herself, her sisters and retainers, with tongs, pokers, spits and broom-sticks. The assailants having been refused admittance, and set at defiance, proposed a parley; whereupon an upper window was opened. A demand for a box of tea, with promise of future compensation, was rejected. A similar requisition, upon payment of a just and proper sum, was also refused, but the commander of the post held out to the besiegers the promise, that when the master returned home, he should positively sell them what tea they wanted, provided they would now peaceably withdraw from the premises.