at from the forward trench line ended the opening phase
of the battle. It was achieved in good order, and position was taken
up on the first floor landing, dominating the main staircase and the
passage that led to the back stairs. At their back was a short
corridor ending in a window which gave on the north side of the House
above the verandah, and from which an active man might descend to the
verandah roof. It had been carefully reconnoitred beforehand by
Dougal, and his were the dispositions.

The odd thing was that the retreating force were in good heart. The
three men from the Mains were warming to their work, and McGuffog wore
an air of genial ferocity. "Dashed fine position I call this," said
Sir Archie. Only Alexis was silent and preoccupied. "We are still at
their mercy," he said. "Pray God your police come soon." He forbade
shooting yet awhile. "The lady is our strong card," he said. "They
won't use their guns while she is with us, but if it ever comes to
shooting they can wipe us out in a couple of minutes. One of you watch
that window, for Paul Abreskov is no fool."

Their exhilaration was short-lived. Below in the hall it was black
darkness save for a greyness at the entrance of the verandah passage;
but the defence was soon aware that the place was thick with men.
Presently there came a scuffling from Carfrae's post towards the back
stairs, and a cry as of some one choking. And at the same moment a
flare was lit below which brought the whole hall from floor to rafters
into blinding light.

It revealed a crowd of figures, some still in the hall and some
half-way up the stairs, and it revealed, too, more figures at the end
of the upper landing where Carfrae had been stationed. The shapes were
motionless like mannequins in a shop window.

"They've got us treed all right," Sir Archie groaned. "What the devil
are they waiting for?"

"They wait for their leader," said Alexis.

No one of the party will ever forget the ensuing minutes. After the
hubbub of the barricades the ominous silence was like icy water,
chilling and petrifying with an indefinable fear. There was no sound
but the wind, but presently mingled with it came odd wild voices.

"Hear to the whaups," McGuffog whispered.

Sir Archie, who found the tension unbearable, sought relief in
contradiction. "You're an unscientific brute, McGuffog," he told his
henchman. "It's a disgrace that a gamekeeper should be such a rotten
naturalis