ing within range to fire a single
shot from their own guns.

"Alf," said Grenville, "this won't do at all: three of our shots were
thrown away, for on three several occasions we both took the same man;
you keep the left advance in hand and I'll take care of the right."

Winfield, who had loaded all the captured Mormon guns, was anxious to
join in the fray, but the enemy was of course quite out of his reach,
and the two Zulus were fairly itching to use their spears, where they
stood guarding the entrance to the cave.

Again the Mormons tried a rush, and again were driven back by the deadly
hail of bullets from the repeating rifles, and quickly retreating into
the woods, all grew still as death. And but for the corpses strewn
about the sward no one would have imagined that a fierce and bloody
fight was even now in progress.

Half an hour passed, and dashing the butt of his rifle on the ground,
Grenville swore roundly.

"Just what I expected; the cunning rascals are waiting till yonder
beacons are burnt out, and then they'll rush us."

"Can't we mend the fires?" anxiously suggested Leigh; "we've plenty of
fuel."

"No, old man, they've got a rifle hidden in the grass less than 100
yards from every fire. Just watch, and you'll see. Yonder scoundrel is
500 yards if he is an inch, but I'll see if I can't rouse the snake out
of that."

A careful sight preceded the report, and the concealed Mormon bounded
from his hiding-place, with a bullet through his shoulder, only to be
shot dead before he could move another yard.

A cry of astonishment broke from the forest--the range of the English
rifles exceeded all they had feared or believed.

And now fire after fire died out, and Grenville commanded his little
party to take up certain positions, where they would be more or less
screened, and also confided the two girls to a perfectly safe corner,
and then waited the result, straining his eyes through the darkness to
catch a glimpse of the foe, as he felt sure the Mormon crowd must now be
on their way across the open space and speeding towards the rock.

Just at this critical moment the beleaguered party was relieved, and at
the same time fairly astonished by an extraordinary occurrence.
Half-way between the rock and the fringe of forest the ashes of one fire
had been quietly smouldering for some moments, after all the other
beacons were clean burnt out; and now, as all listened intently,
expecting to hear the cautious