he
man with the rifle had finished asking a lot of playful questions so
as to gain time, the first shots were fired. The marines armed with
binoculars were not unduly elated by any one shot, but merely reported
progress in a characteristic American fashion--that is, by a system of
chaffing. This provided tonic, and presently the bullets crept in so
close to the marks that all chaff was forgotten. Sometimes it took an
hour, or even two, to bring down a single man; but no matter how long
the time necessary might be, the Americans stayed patiently with their
man until the sniper's life's blood was drilled out of him by these
thin pencils of Lee straight-pull bullets. Once, and once only, did
excitement overtake a linked pair I was watching. They had already
knocked over two of the enemy aloft in trees, and were attacking a
third, who only showed his head occasionally above a roof-line when he
fired, and who bobbed up and down with lightning speed. The sole thing
to do under the circumstances was to calculate when the head would
reappear. So the man with the binoculars calculated aloud for the
benefit of the man with the rifle, and soon, in safety below the
wall-line, a curious group had collected to see the end. But it was a
hard shot and a disappointing one, since it was essential not to scare
the quarry thoroughly by smashing the roof-line instead of the head.
So the bullets flew high, and although the sharpshooter was comforted
by the remarks of the other man, no progress was made. Then suddenly
the rifleman fired, on an inspiration, he said afterwards, and lo! and
behold, the head and shoulders of a Chinese brave rose clear in the
air and then tumbled backwards. "Killed, by G----; killed, by G----!"
swore the man with the binoculars irreverently; and well content with
their morning's work, the two climbed down and went away.

You will realise from all these things that everything is still very
erratic, and that the men remain badly distributed. Nor is this all.
The general command over the whole of the Legation area is now plainly
modelled on the Chinese plan--that is, the officer commanding does
not interfere with the others, excepting when he can do so with
impunity to himself. As I have shown, orders which are distasteful are
simply ignored. There is a spirit of rebellion which can only spring
from one cause. People who have read a lot say that every siege in
history has been like this--with everything incomplete an