ies that those splendid
trophies might be supposed to have wrought. How one thought
besides of the adventurers in that whizzing motor-boat during
that next half-hour. But as it turned out, according to their
disappointed report, not a shot was fired at them.

'We let fly with the Maxim at some natives and one European on
shore,' the gun-worker shouted, as they drew up at the ship's
side. 'We saw some canoes, three of them. Askaris were in them,
and urging the paddlers on. Then, of all times, the Maxim took it
into its head to jam badly. So we didn't get them.' I happened to
catch my friend in khaki's eye as the other lamented. He looked
quite cheerful about things, while the other went on, 'We'd have
sunk the lot, if it hadn't jammed just then.'

The thought flickered into my mind as to whether anybody was
responsible for that singular coincidence. I looked in my
friend's face with some sort of an uneasy question. But he only
smiled. His face was strangely prepossessing, so entirely
fearless, yet not the least truculent. His brown eyes and boy's
lips answered my question with the most engaging of smiles. Those
brown eyes assorted piquantly with his very fair hair. He had
pushed his white helmet far back on his yellow head. Half an hour
later we were in our action stations once more. Our riflemen were
firing at individual askaris (were they all askaris, and not
unhappy villagers?) who could be descried upon the shore. The
signalman, passing by again, snatched a rifle and fired just
beside me. One of the Maxims meanwhile was working away grimly,
the officer's face was set firm as he steadied his coughing
machine. Then it was that I saw my unattached friend step towards
him, and take up his stand behind him. Ping! A bullet came just
over the gun-director's head. 'That was a near shave,' the
warrant officer told me afterwards. 'Someone aimed too high, or
he'd have got him that worked the gun.'

Yet it was a mystery to me why the bullet did not get that
handsome head behind and above him, the head that I reflected had
doubtless helped to draw the fire so high. He who had exposed
himself came to me untouched. 'It looked near,' he allowed to me
smiling. He stayed by us for the rest of that fell morning. He
smiled, and bade me cheer up, when the naval commander went by;
had he not twitted me for sitting safe under the bulwark and
wincing when the four-inch gun roared? He smiled also a little
ironically when my colleague c