their horses' heads and rode back
to their comrades; upon their joining them the whole rode some little
distance to the rear, and then divided, half turning to the left, the
other to the right.

"What on earth are they going to do?" Dick asked in surprise.

"They are going to surround us," Mr Harvey said; "they will dismount
and leave their horses in shelter. Now, lads, out with all the bales of
skins and pile them up under the waggons."

All hands set to work, and soon under each waggon a thick breastwork of
bales was erected, reaching nearly up to the floor, leaving only enough
space to see out of and fire; the three whites and the hunters took
station, one under each waggon, the teamsters and other natives being
distributed round the square. Quickly as they had laboured, the
preparations were not complete, when from a brow, at the distance of
about a hundred yards from the laager, a shot was fired, the bullet
burying itself with a thud in one of the bales of skins; almost
instantly from every point in a circle round other shots were fired, and
the splintering of wood and the dull sounds, as the shots struck the
barricade, told how accurate was their aim.

Mr Harvey's orders had been, "Don't throw away a shot. When you see
the flash of a rifle, aim steadily at that point; the next time a head
is lifted to take aim, hit it." The natives were ordered on no account
to fire, unless the Boers attempted to close, but to lie quietly under
shelter of the defences. In consequence of these orders not a shot
replied to the first volley of the Boers; but when the second round
commenced, puffs of smoke darted from beneath the waggons. Dick and Tom
knew that their shots had been successful, for the heads at which they
had aimed lay clearly in view, and no discharge came from the rifles
pointed towards them. The other shots must have passed near their
marks, and after this first exhibition of the shooting powers of the
defenders, the Boers became much more careful, firing only at intervals,
and shifting their ground each time, before they raised their heads to
take aim. So the whole day passed, a dropping fire being kept up on
both sides. The defenders were convinced by the end of the day that
seven or eight of the Boers had fallen, but their places had been more
than filled by new-comers who had been seen galloping across the plain
towards the scene of conflict. On the side of the defenders no
casualties had occurre