ing Carlyon. He found him
superintending the throwing-up of earthworks. The most exposed part of
the camp was to be abandoned. Derrick joined him in silence. Somehow
this man's personality attracted him strongly. Though he had defied him,
quarrelled with him, insulted him, the spell of his presence was
irresistible.

Carlyon paid small attention to him till he turned to leave that part of
the camp's defences. Then, with a careless hand through Derrick's arm,
he said:

"You will have your fill of stiff fighting to-night, boy. But, remember,
you are not to throw yourself away."

As evening fell, the attack was resumed, and it continued throughout the
night. Tribesmen charged up to the very breastworks themselves and fell
before the awful fire of the defenders' rifles. Death had no terrors for
them. They strove for the mastery with fanatical zeal. But they strove
in vain. A greater force than they possessed, the force of discipline
and organized resistance--kept them at bay. Behind the splendid courage
of the Indian soldiers were the resource and the resolution of a handful
of Englishmen. The spirit of the conquering race, unquenchable,
irresistible, weighed down the balance.

In the middle of the night Captain Raymond was hit in the shoulder and
carried, fainting, to the closely guarded club-house, where his wife was
waiting.

The command devolved upon Lieutenant Steele, who took up the task
undismayed. Down in the hastily dug trenches Toby Carey was fiercely
holding his men to their work.

And Derrick Rose was with him, unrestrained for that night at least.

"Relief at dawn!" Toby said to him once.

And Derrick responded with a wild laugh.

"Relief be damned! We can hold our own without it."

* * * * *

Relief came with the dawn, at a moment when the tribesmen were spurring
themselves to the greatest effort of all, sustained by the knowledge
that their Great Fakir was among them.

General Harford, with guides, Sikhs, Goorkhas, came down like a
hurricane from the south-east, cut off a great body of tribesmen from
their fellows, and drove them headlong, with deadly force, upon the
defences they had striven so furiously to take.

The defenders sallied out to meet them with fixed bayonets. The brief
siege, if siege it could be called, was over.

In the early light Derrick found himself fighting, fighting furiously,
sword to sword. And the terrible joy of the conflict ran in hi