ir rifles carry
right enough, but it's all guesswork; they can't take an aim."

The sergeant was right enough; but the bullets were dangerous, and they
came now pretty rapidly from all round, striking with a vicious _phit_!
which was terribly straining to the nerves. And all the time the heat
of the sun grew more painful. There was not a breath of air; and the
pull's of smoke when the enemy fired looked dim and distant, as if seen
through a haze.

The sergeant made some allusion to the fact.

"Looks as if there was a change coming. There, sir, you can hardly see
that man and horse."

"No," said Dickenson sadly, "but I think it's from the state of our
eyes. I feel giddy, and mine are quite dim."

"Perhaps it is that, sir," said the sergeant. "Things look quite
muddled up to me. Now turn a little and look yonder, out Groenfontein
way."

Dickenson turned wearily, and winced, for three bullets came almost
simultaneously, two with their vicious _whiz-z_! the other to cut up the
ground and ricochet.

"Not hit, sir?" said the sergeant anxiously.

"No; but one shot was very near. Yes, I see what you mean: the Boers
are mounting out in that direction. They're coming closer. We shall
perhaps have a chance now," he cried, with more animation.

It seemed, though, that they were going to retire as they came, the
circle being opened on the Groenfontein side and the men retiring in
twos, to go on increasing in two groups, firing rapidly the while; but,
to the surprise of the beleaguered party, the bullets ceased to whiz in
their direction.

A dead silence fell upon the group, no one daring to speak the hope that
was in him for fear of exciting his companions by an idea that might
after all prove only to be imagination. Then all spoke together, and
there was an excited cheer.

"Yes," cried Dickenson; "there's help coming. The Boers are retiring
fast."

"Why, of course, sir," said the sergeant confidently. "The colonel
would be sure to send out to see why we didn't come back. There's a lot
of our fellows out yonder that the enemy is firing at, and we can't see
them for the haze. It is haze, and not giddiness and our eyes."

"No, sergeant; we can see clearly enough. I can make out the advance of
the relief party. Wait five minutes, and I'll see what a few
signal-shots will do."

But before the time mentioned the Boers could be seen steadily
retreating, and the puffs of smoke from the firing of an advanc