auncher even than we bluejackets did
that day; for, not a man turned his back on the foe until the captain
gave the word.

This `old Hankey Pankey' was forced to do, much against the grain, a
moment or two later on, Captain Oliver having been driven off from the
right attack, thus leaving both our flanks now exposed as well as our
front to the fire of the Somalis, who once more rushed out from the
stockade upon us.

"We must retire, my lads," cried the captain in a hoarse voice, the
words coming out with almost a sob. "But no hurry! Fall back by
sections, each wheeling and firing in turn. The company will now
retire! Quick march! Halt! Front!--fire!"

He suited the action to the word himself as he said this, discharging
both his revolvers point-blank at two of the Arabs, who were leading on
the gang in hot pursuit of us, tumbling them over like ninepins.

We had retreated in this fashion for about a mile or so, changing front
continually and facing the Somalis, who pressed us hard every inch of
the way; until, coming to an open space on the main road that had been
cut in a sort of zigzag through the bush from Malindi up to Uganda, the
captain determined to make a stand here and teach our pursuers a lesson,
the more particularly as we now had with us all our little nine-pounder
boat-guns.

These, with the exception of one, that only got up at the last moment
when too late, we had been unable to drag along with us for the attack
on the stockade, the path we had traversed through the bush in the first
instance under the leadership of our treacherous guide having almost
been impassable for ourselves, let alone guns.

Accordingly, with a rapid order to Mr Shrapnell, or `Gunnery Jack,' who
had accompanied the column from the ship, but had remained behind with
his little battery of field-pieces on their becoming bogged in the bush,
trying all he could to extricate them so as to get up with the column,
he being anxious, of course, to take his part in the fighting, we formed
square in the open.

The thirty odd marines we had with us were drawn up two deep in front,
they being the oldest and most seasoned men of our force; while we
bluejackets were quickly echeloned along the sides and rear of the
square, at each corner of which was stationed one of the nine-pounders.

Our Maxim gun, which had become jammed at its first discharge when using
it against the stockade but had now been made serviceable again, was
place