On the other hand, the time wasted will be only short, and
will not matter. What else shall we do?"

"Make for the stockade, as I have said, and when there we will arrange
the method of defence," answered Dick. "Keep your ears open for the
signal."

He left them, and an hour later, having seen Johnnie again in the
meanwhile and instructed him to sound the alarm, he retreated to the
stockade with the men, waiting till the last to see how they carried out
the movement.

"That will do very well," he said, as they arrived, panting, in the
stockade. "Now for other orders. The last man in throws the doors to
and is helped by his friends. That is right. We are now safely behind
stout walls, and can fetch our rifles. They are kept in this rack in
the hut, and a bag of ammunition is hung to the muzzle of each. Let
every one go in and help himself, and then run out to the walls."

He watched as the miners, a group of intelligent men, carried out his
orders. Then as they came hustling from the hut, pushing each other
aside in their eagerness, he arrested them with a shout and with
uplifted hand.

"Some one will be shot very soon," he said. "Some of you have already
loaded, and guns go off sooner than they are wanted to under these
circumstances. We must do things in an orderly manner, and each must
have an allotted place. Tell your men off to a loophole apiece, chief,"
he shouted. "Now, that is better, and we will practise the move again."

Several times they carried out the exercise, Dick making them emerge
from the stockade, and then, at a beat on the tom-tom, rush in, close
the gates, and go in search of their rifles. No man was allowed to load
till he was at his loophole, and then the order was that there should be
no firing unless the enemy were clearly seen.

"We have a fair store of cartridges," said Dick, "but we may have to
stand a siege. That being the case, we must not throw them away. Now
let each man pick out a tree or some object, and aim at it. I'll give
the order to fire."

By now the miners were beginning to take more than a passing interest in
these manoeuvres of their young chief. They had been talking the thing
over, and had come to the conclusion that it would be worth while to
safeguard their own interests. They had been away from their friends
for a long time, and it might be that there was a war of considerable
proportions raging, for the Ashantis were at daggers drawn with the