hat seemed all
round her. Below her, and to her left, there were splashes
of white flame. The fighter's daughter knew at once that
these were from Kafir guns. Overhead, the rip-rip-rip of
the Burghers' rifles pattered like rain on a roof, like
hoofs on a road. And all was near at hand. Despite her
endeavors, she had come nearly the whole way round the
hill, and was now barely outside the cross-fire. She stood
up, shaking her skirts into order, and took in the
position. It was a bad one, but it pointed the way to
Andreas, and, with a pat to her tumbled clothes she settled
the bottles safely again in the basket and resumed her
climbing.

"She thrust along through the bushes, while the clatter of
the rifles grew nearer, and presently there was a flick--
like a frog diving into mud--close by her feet, and she knew
there were bullets coming her way. Flick-plop! It came
again and again and again.

"'Some one sees me moving and is shooting at me,' said Anna
to herself, and stopped to rest where a rock gave cover.
The bullets, lobbing like pellets tossed from a window,
came singing down towards her, clicking into the bushes,
while below she could see the progress of the battle
written in leaping dots of fire.

The Kafirs were spreading among the boulders--so much could
be read from the growing breadth of the line of their fire,
and Anna was quick to grasp the meaning of this movement.
They were preparing to rush the hill, as of old the Basutos
had done. The Kafirs with guns were being sent out to the
flanks of the line to keep up a fire while the centre went
forward with the assegais. It was an old manoeuvre; she had
heard her brothers talk of it many times, and also--she
remembered it now--of the counter-trick to meet it. There
must be bush at hand, to set fire to, that the advance may
be seen as soon as it forms and withered with musketry.

"Regardless of that deft rifleman among the Burghers who
continued to drop his bullets about her, Anna took her
basket again on her arm, came forth from her rock, and
resumed the climb. She was obliged to make a good deal of
noise, for it was too dark and uncomfortable to enable her
to choose her steps well, Up above, the Burghers must have
heard her plainly, though none but a keen eye would pick
the blackness of her shape from the bosom of the night. The
summit and the foot of the hill were alive with the
spitting of the guns, and all the while the unknown
sharpshooter search