igger, I heard the crack of several other rifles from different
parts of the house, and with it the cry of frightened children awakened
thus rudely from their slumbers.

It was an exciting moment. The yells redoubled at the sound of our fire,
but seemed to die down a moment later, and the black mass came no
closer. We could not see the result of our shooting, but we continued to
pour into the scarcely visible masses of the enemy a fire which must
surely have had deadly effect.

Suddenly the dark mass, which we had dimly seen, vanished. I heard a
shout from Gadsby upstairs: 'We have beaten them off--good boys all!' he
cried. 'But let no man leave his post--they may be back in a minute.'

They were back in a minute or two, but did not stay long within sight.
Again we peppered them, and forced them back into the darkness which lay
beyond our vision.

And a third time the plucky fellows charged, only to be stopped once
more--half-a-dozen repeating rifles, fired as quickly as the trigger can
be pulled, are capable of great things in an emergency. After this third
attempt the Matabeles did not appear for half-an-hour. Had they finally
retired? It seemed to be almost too good to be true!

Gadsby came round. 'Don't leave your station, Vandeleur,' he said. 'We
have done wonders, but we must not be too confident or run any risks. We
must watch the night out and see broad daylight in before we can
consider ourselves at all safe.'

As though to belie any idea of safety, a voice suddenly came from
Thomson upstairs: 'Gadsby,' he shouted, 'come up! I think I see a group
of fellows coming along.'

Upstairs ran Gadsby like a streak of lightning. No one, however, could
see anything, and it was decided that Thomson must have been mistaken.

But suddenly there was a tremendous scare. Morrison, at the back of the
house, gave a shout and fired his rifle twice. At the same moment a
glare of light shot up into the air. A Matabele fellow had crept right
up to the house in the darkness and was endeavouring to set fire to the
place with a bundle of dry grass. He was so close under the house that
Morrison, from his loophole, could not get at him.

'Bring a dynamite cartridge,' shouted Morrison.

Gadsby brought a cartridge and lighted the fuse; then he dropped it out
of the window, which he opened for a second in order to do so. It fell,
presumably, close to the Matabele, who was busy over his fire; he would
find it difficult, we know, t