artillerymen were performing their morning ablutions, brushing their
clothes, etcetera, in the paved space before the chambers. Strangely
enough, the back of the battery was left perfectly open and unprotected
by either wall or fence; there was therefore absolutely nothing to
prevent its being rushed from the land side. I counted the men in sight
to the number of thirty-three, but concluded that there must be others
somewhere inside the chambers; and then, having acquired all the
information possible under the circumstances, made the best of my way
back to where Mr Adair and the rest of our party impatiently awaited
me.

CHAPTER THREE.

A CUTTING-OUT EXPEDITION.

In as few words as possible I reported to the first lieutenant the
extent of my discoveries, and, in return, received his tersely-expressed
commendation of my efforts; after which he briefly addressed his
followers, explaining to them the importance of making the attack as
complete a surprise as possible, and pointing out the necessity for
availing ourselves to the utmost possible extent of the cover afforded
us by the gorse bushes while approaching the battery. Then, having told
off six of the men for the especial duty of spiking the guns--one man to
each gun--he directed me to lead the way, stationing himself alongside
me.

Three minutes later the entire party were on top of the cliffs, where we
paused for a moment to reconnoitre the ground afresh, and get our breath
after the exertion of climbing; then we moved slowly and cautiously
forward again, allowing plenty of time for each man to creep across the
open spaces from one patch of cover to the next, until in the course of
some twenty-five minutes all hands of us were lying down behind a large
clump of bushes, some twenty yards from the battery, which I had
previously fixed upon as a convenient point from which to start our
final rush. Here another brief pause was made, which Mr Adair,
kneeling behind a bush, utilised to count heads and make sure that all
hands had come up; when, having satisfied himself upon this point, he
drew his sword, flourished it over his head as a signal, and, springing
to his feet, led us all at top speed in a charge upon the unprotected
rear of the battery.

The wild cheer of our lads as they broke cover and rushed across the
narrow open space which still separated them from the battery was
evidently the first intimation to the garrison that anything was wrong,
for