parently, was he, for now a roar of firearms broke
forth from that cover, and a shower of bullets and pot-legs came
rattling against the walls of the house; one indeed inside, not far, he
could have sworn, from his ear.

The moon, though far from at full, threw upon the house a great deal too
much light, and, on the other hand, not enough to dispel the shade of
the quince hedge. To this extent the enemy had the advantage, and the
flash and roar, and the vicious spit of missile on wall or roof--or a
humming whistle above either, as it hurtled away harmlessly into space--
was continuous. Kafirs, as a rule, are execrable shots, though here and
there a rare exception is to be found. Such a rare exception now Dick
Selmes began to fear was present among this crowd, for every now and
then a single bullet would hum through the upper half of the door,
always striking in the same place, and always when he, judging position
from some recent discharge, had returned the fire, using the rifle this
time.

But now that he had to play a waiting game, his blood cooled. The
nights were short at this time of year. With the first light of morning
their weakness would become apparent. The Kafirs would find some means
of rushing them. It was clear that Thompson's prediction had been
verified. This was no sporadic outbreak of irresponsible savagery. The
whole Gaika location was up in arms, and the glow succeeding glow which
he and Hazel had seen earlier in the evening, was that of flaming
homesteads, deserted or the reverse, which the barbarians had fired to
signal their rising. As for relief from without, why, it was probable
that Komgha itself was threatened, or if not, to send forth a small
force among thousands of savages pillaging and burning would be madness,
whereas to send out a large one would be to expose the settlement itself
to attack and massacre. Things looked dark enough, anyway, and now the
first heat and excitement of actual and active fight over, a reaction of
foreboding set in upon him. A soft rustle of garments beside him in the
darkness made him start.

"Mr Selmes. I have a plan. It might be worth trying."

"Good God, Mrs Waybridge, go out of here! There's one beast who can
shoot, and you're bang in the line of fire. Ah!"

With the very words a missile came humming between the two, splashing
itself into the wall. Dick pulled her suddenly and forcibly out of the
line of the open half-door.

"This is