" thought the boy. "At three the fun begins. Kind of them to
give me warning."

Confident that he would have a few moments' breathing space, his
watchful vigilance relaxed. Instead of keeping a sharp lookout, he ran
his eye once more over his defences, and was considering whether it
would be better to use the shorter or the longer lasso, when Hal's
voice made itself heard again.

"Two!" he shouted with the full force of his lungs, and simultaneously
a wild war-whoop went up from his army. There was the sound of
breaking branches, and from different quarters of the wood four of the
besiegers broke into the open and advanced at the double.

This movement was the outcome of a deeply-laid plan of Hal's. He knew
that if an advance was made at the word "two" the fort would be taken
completely by surprise, and under cover of the attack from the front he
was, in the meantime, bringing the heavy gun--the water-barrel--into
position at the rear.

His surmise proved correct. The holder of the fort was taken at a
disadvantage; he fired wildly in consequence, and had the mortification
of perceiving that not one of his shots took effect.

The attacking party, of whom Hal was not one, reserved their fire, and
seemed bent upon coming to close quarters. Grimly determined to make
it warm for them when they did close with him, the defender sprang on
to the roof, and, regardless of the fact that he was exposing himself
recklessly, took up his stand by the flagstaff, and, throwing down his
catapult, whirled his lasso wildly round his head.

On came the attacking party; he faced them, and with a coolness that
did him credit at such a critical moment he picked out the one that he
could most easily capture, and was in the act of hurling the lasso,
when, up from the very midst of the hawthorn bushes at the back of the
fort, Hal's voice was heard again.

"Three!" he shouted: and turning like lightning to meet this fresh foe,
who he guessed would prove the most formidable, the boy saw an immense
jet of water spurt high into the air. Twenty feet it rose, and then
descended full and fair upon his head. A mingled shout of defiance and
joy told Hal that his aim had been good, and he continued to ply the
hose. At the same moment eight cannon-balls, five at least of which
hit him, were thrown at the harassed defender, whose helmet was now
full of sand and water.

Choking and gasping and almost unable to see, so great was the force
w