worse."

"That is very likely. Guard, sir, if you please!"

"You mean to resist?"

"Ah, have you grasped that fact, at last?"

The sergeant rushed upon him and crossed swords. His first lunge was
put aside easily, and he was forced to break ground.

"Hullo! So you can really fence!" he panted, feinting and aiming a
furious thrust at Tristram's throat.

"Upon my word," said Tristram, parrying, and running him through the
thigh as he recovered, "this gentleman seems astonished at
everything!"

As the sergeant dropped, Captain Barker darted from behind Tristram
and pounced upon a musket which one of the soldiers had abandoned
when first assailed by the bees.

"This gets serious," he muttered. "Those fellows yonder are fixing
bayonets."

Indeed, some half a dozen of the red-coats had already done so, and
surrender seemed but a matter of a few moments.

"Give me the musket," said Tristram placidly, "and take the sword.
My arm is longer than yours. Now get behind my shoulder again.
Don't expose yourself, but if one of these fellows slips under my
guard, I leave him to you."

"Good boy!" murmured the little man, exchanging weapons. It is a
fact that tears of pride filled his eyes.

"There are six of them. Excuse me, dad, if I ask you to look out for
your head. I am going to try a _moulinet_."

The six soldiers came on in a very determined manner, each man
presenting his bayonet at Tristram's chest. They had little doubt of
his instant submission, and were considerably surprised when
Tristram, lifting the musket by its barrel, began to whirl it round
his head with the fury of a maniac. The foremost, as the butt
whizzed by his cheek, drew back a pace.

"Run the rebels through!" cursed the officer behind them.

The leader shortened his grasp on his bayonet, and, watching his
opportunity, dashed under Tristram's arm. At the same instant
Captain Barker popped out, and with a quiet pass spitted him clean
through the right lung.

"All together, you sons of dogs!" yelled the sergeant, who had
dragged himself to a little distance, and was stanching the flow of
blood from his wounded thigh.

Two of the soldiers heard the advice and came on together with a
rush. The first of them caught the full swing of Tristram's musket
on the side of his stiff cap and went down like an ox. The second
took Captain Barker's sword through the left arm and dropped his
bayonet. But before either Tristram or the Captain