mind that I would not pull trigger during the fight
until I could be certain of making a hit; but the negro who had been
told off to help in the defence of the window at which I was stationed
had simply thrust his musket through his loophole and blazed away,
apparently without taking the trouble even to sight along the barrel.

"My friend," I said, digging him savagely in the ribs, "which of those
fellows was it that you aimed at?"

"Which of them, Senor?" he echoed in astonishment. "I did not aim at
any one in particular; I simply fired my piece, believing that the
bullet would be certain to hit some one."

"Just so," I retorted. "Well, that is not at all the way to win a
fight, for, you see, your bullet has hit no one. Next time you shoot,
aim straight at some particular individual, and make sure that your gun
is pointing straight before you pull the trigger. For example--you see
that big man running straight toward us, the man with the scythe on the
end of a pole? Well, keep your eye on him for a moment, and see what
happens."

The man in question was coming straight for our window, with the
intention, probably, of attempting to dislodge some of the sand-bags and
force his way into the house. He was only about ten yards away when,
having carefully covered his chest with my two sights, I gently pressed
the trigger. When the smoke blew away the fellow was lying motionless
upon his face, and some twenty others who had been following him had
come to an abrupt halt, and were gazing with indecision, first at the
house and next at him.

"Another cartridge, quick!" I whispered, thrusting my hand out behind
me. A small, soft hand met mine, thrusting a cartridge between my
fingers, and glancing hastily over my shoulder, in some surprise, I saw
that it was Teresita who had established herself as my assistant. The
next moment I had bitten off the end of the cartridge, poured the powder
down the barrel, thrust the empty paper after it by way of a wad, and
was ramming a bullet home on top of all. Then, peeping through the
loophole as I cocked the lock, I saw that a party of four of his
comrades had picked up the stricken man, and were just about to carry
him away, while the others were in full retreat for a clump of bushes
not very far away, probably for the purpose of securing cover while they
reloaded their weapons. The four bearers, however, were still within
easy range, and, taking careful aim for a moment, I