ever and
anon the weak rays of the lamp showed him the white of Johnnie's eyes,
as he turned them towards the sky. Ah! It was a shout which broke the
trying silence.

A shout of alarm, coming from the lips of one of the enemy. And quickly
following upon it came the sharp report of a rifle and a human scream,
the cry of some unhappy native who had been hit. After that there was a
medley of calls and loud reports. Shouts and cries of rage and
excitement came from the enemy, rifles flashed and roared, while the
muzzle-loaders of the Ashanti attackers bellowed as they sent their load
of slugs towards the stockade. The air above the enclosure sang with
missiles of every description. Angular pieces of lead and iron, bullets
of excellent formation, ironstone pebbles and pieces of broken rock,
hissed over the hut and stockade in answer to the fire of the defenders.

"Excellent!" said Dick, as he stared from the gateway. "They are doing
well. If I were not aware of the movement being carried out, I should
say that the garrison was making a sortie, or an attempt to break out,
and that they were trying to find the weakest spot in the ring thrown
round them. Listen to the calls of the enemy, and hark! there goes a
whistle."

Above all the sound came the shrill signal, perhaps blown by James
Langdon himself.

"It may be a recall to the men on the crest," he whispered. "Chief, it
is time for you and your comrade to move."

"We go. In a few minutes you shall hear from us, white chief."

Dick turned to see the two brave Ashantis passing out of the stockade.
In a moment they were gone, and, like their comrades, they made not a
sound. He and Johnnie were left alone to listen to the firing and the
shouts outside, and to strain their ears for some noise, a shout
perhaps, the firing of a rifle, to tell them that the chiefs had been
discovered. But no signal came from the direction of the crest, they
had no intimation of the fate which had befallen the plucky two, till of
a sudden a figure rose at their feet, causing both to start back.

"I am sent by my leader," said a voice. "The crest is clear. There
were two of the enemy there. They are dead."

Dick could hardly believe his ears, and the news took a load from his
mind. If all was clear on the crest, then it was time to set the others
moving. He swung round and addressed Johnnie.

"You stay here till the bags are gone, then follow," he said. "I am
going to