gh the bodies of the fallen.

The effect of this murderous discharge was instantaneous and remarkable.
Brave though the Fung might be, they were quite unaccustomed to magazine
rifles. Living as they did perfectly isolated and surrounded by a great
river, even if they had heard of such things and occasionally seen an
old gaspipe musket that reached them in the course of trade, of modern
guns and their terrible power they knew nothing. Small blame to them,
therefore, if their courage evaporated in face of a form of sudden
death which to them must have been almost magical. At any rate they fled
incontinently, leaving their dead and wounded on the ground.

Now again we thought of flight, which perhaps would have proved our
wisest course, but hesitated because we could not believe that the Fung
had left the road clear, or done more than retreat a little to wait
for us. While we lost time thus the mist thinned a great deal, so much
indeed that we could see our exact position. In front of us, towards the
city side, lay a wide open space, whereof the walls ended against
those of Harmac itself, to which they formed a kind of vestibule or
antechamber set there to protect this gateway of the town through which
we had ridden in the darkness, not knowing whither we went.

"Those inner doors are open," said Orme, nodding his head toward the
great portals upon the farther side of the square. "Let's go see if we
can shut them. Otherwise we shan't hold this place long."

So we ran across to the further doors that were similar to those through
which we had just fired, only larger, and as we met nobody to interfere
with our efforts, found that the united strength of the three of us was
just, only just, sufficient to turn first one and then the other of
them upon its hinges and work the various bolts and bars into their
respective places. Two men could never have done the job, but being
three and fairly desperate we managed it. Then we retreated to our
archway and, as nothing happened, took the opportunity to eat and drink
a few mouthfuls, Quick remarking sagely that we might as well die upon
full as upon empty stomachs.

When we had crossed the square the fog was thinning rapidly, but as the
sun rose, sucking the vapours from the rain-soaked earth, it thickened
again for awhile.

"Sergeant," said Orme presently, "these black men are bound to attack
us soon. Now is the time to lay a mine while they can't see what we are
after."

"I