rived of arms and ammunition, they were safely lodged.

A guard, consisting of half the complement of marines from each ship,
was placed over them, the whole body under the command of Major
Stransham.

A few days after the capture it was discovered that ammunition was
being surreptitiously conveyed into the fort by friends of the rebels,
and investigation disclosed that a plot had been hatched to blow up
the fort.

Count Das Anton pretended to be wholly ignorant of the conspiracy. The
rebels were paraded, each man searched, and every nook and cranny in
the fort thoroughly overhauled. A large quantity of gunpowder was
found, and this was promptly wheeled to the parapets in barrows and
thrown into the Tagus.

The guard placed over this large body of prisoners was small, and to
overawe the prisoners all the marines from the ships were landed every
evening at sunset and marched with fixed bayonets to the fort, with
orders to make as much noise and clatter as they could; and then at
night, when all was still, they stole silently away from the fort and
returned on board. So well was the ruse practised every day that the
prisoners were under the impression that they were guarded by a large
body, and never suspected the truth. The time at the fort was not very
pleasant to the marines on guard, as the place was filthy and
literally swarmed with fleas, and their white drill suits were so
covered with these detestable insects that the marines appeared to be
dressed in brown instead of white clothing.

This was Mr. Bignell's only taste of active service. When the _Superb_
was paid off he was employed in several offices in the barracks, first
as commanding officer's clerk, and afterwards he was appointed to the
barracks at Millbay as barrack sergeant, and he held this appointment
for seven years. By the end of this time he had served twenty-two
years. Throughout all this time he had been a keen and close observer
of nature. From his boyhood up natural history had exercised a great
attraction for him, and as he grew up, and st