and
the Scotsman "drawing a bead" on him.

"I was trying to get two in a line," said the economist; and presently
he succeeded. Being protected by the hedge naturally made the men
cooler, and able to afford to reserve their fire.

If any Arabs were shot so far off as a hundred yards it was as much as
it was, and then only because the marksman felt he was "on." Indeed,
with far inferior defenders the position would have been impregnable;
held by such men as these, to attack it was suicide. It is hardly an
exaggeration to say that every shot told; and if several hit one man, on
the other hand some single bolts struck two men, and that helped to
bring up the average. For a good ten minutes the plucky fanatics
persevered, thirsting like tigers for the blood of their foes; and the
carnage was fearful. They had no artillery to shake the defence with
before attacking, and the fire was uniform as well as deadly.

"Give it 'em hot, boys!" "That's your sort!" "Bravo, old Waterproof!"
this last cheer being for Macintosh, who shot a chief who was leading on
his tribesmen, brandishing a huge two-handed sword.

"Camels for ever!" "Faugh-a-ballah!" "Ha! Ha!" "Hurrah! Hurrah!
Hurra-a-ah!" and the cheers were heard for miles across the barren
waste, disturbing the beasts and birds of prey on the sites of
neighbouring battle-fields from their unholy repast, as the Arabs drew
off to their cover in confusion, leaving the whole ground between it and
the zereba strewed with their dead and dying. As they pressed back more
fell, the soldiers firing at longer distances now the prospect of many
more immediate chances was small. The champion marksmen ran for the
balcony again, and the last victims dropped to their rifles. And soon
was apparent the astonishing vitality of the Arab race. The wounded,
who were not mortally stricken, were seen crawling and dragging
themselves to cover in all directions. Had they but got the order, how
delighted would the soldiers have been to quit the zereba, and dash upon
the disordered foe; and that Captain Reece burned to give that order you
may be perfectly certain. But that would have been contrary to the
tenor of his instructions; and, besides, might, after all, have turned
victory into disaster, for the Arabs probably had received
reinforcements before the attack, and the little band of Englishmen
might find themselves smothered with numbers in the bush.

There was no more sign of the en