defence we can make."

"We shall always be able to say we have fought literally side by side,
at any rate," he answered, with a pressure of the hand. "How can I
think any the worse of you for your splendid pluck?"

There was no more time, however, for anything of this sort. The
attacking party had divided into two, and one section of it had crawled
round, under cover of the thorn-bushes, to the other side. Now they
opened fire, and the bullets began to hum and "ping" over the laager.
To their accompaniment the storekeeper's wife and children kept up an
unintermittent howling.

"For God's sake, Ada, choke those brats," yelled the exasperated Minton,
"and yourself helping them. Here's Miss Halse dropping her man to each
shot with the best of us, and all you do is to sit and howl. That won't
help any."

It grew lighter and lighter, and consequently more dangerous for the
savages. They had reconnoitred this laager and its conditions at night,
and had voted it a safe and easy walk over, and so it would have been
but for the arrival of Ben Halse. Now they concluded it wasn't good
enough, and drew off under cover of the long grass. Then the sun flamed
up over the dark wall of forest-hung hill, and Ben Halse, and one or two
more, were just able to get in a stray long shot at stragglers showing
themselves in the retreating distance.

"They're done with," said the last named. "Tell you what it is, Minton,
you deserved all you'd have got for leaving your shop to take its
chance. You'd have got it too if it hadn't been for me and Denham,
though I don't say it to brag."

"Oh, damn it, old chap," was the answer. "Don't jaw and lecture like a
bally Methodist parson. Come on in and have a drink all round. I'll
swear we've deserved it. Then breakfast. All's well that ends well."

They counted the dead. There were thirty-three of them, nearly three
times their own number, and not one of themselves was scratched, though
a horse had been hit by a chance bullet. Of wounded none were found,
their comrades having had time to carry them away.

Breakfast over there was a great cleaning of rifles, and much talk. All
but one or two were wildly elate. They had had their first brush and
had come out with flying colours. They thirsted for a second. So when
someone said suddenly, "Look there!" and every head, turned in the
direction pointed out, was conscious of a dust cloud coming along the
road where it crossed a dista