more--rallied round their leader, a tall, stout man with a majestic
presence. Once he had got his men in hand--thirteen or fourteen he had
left--the open courtyard was too hot a place even for the Highland men.
They retreated, shoulder to shoulder, towards the barricade, and soon
were firing viciously from behind its shelter. If they lived through
this night, never again, it would seem, could they be satisfied with the
daily round of preparing an old lady's bath, and pressing upon her
dishes which she did not want. And yet--their mistress was an
exceptional old lady.

Now, all the towers were vacant, except the one defended by Nevill, and
it had been agreed from the first that he was to stick to his post
until time for the last stand. The reason of this was that the door of
his tower was screened by the barricade, and the two rear walls of the
bordj (meeting in a triangle at this corner) must be defended while the
barricade was held. These walls unguarded, the enemy could climb them
from outside and fire down on the backs of the Europeans, behind the
barrier. Those who attempted to climb from the courtyard (the
gate-stairway being destroyed by the explosion) must face the fire of
the defenders, who could also see and protect themselves against any one
mounting the wall to pass over the scattered debris of the ruined
signal-tower. Thus every contingency was provided for, as well as might
be by five men, against three times their number; and the Europeans
meant to make a stubborn fight before that last resort--the dining-room.
Nevertheless, it occurred to Stephen that perhaps, after all, he need
not greatly repent the confession of love he had made to Victoria. He
had had no right to speak, but if there were to be no future for either
in this world, fate need not grudge him an hour's happiness. And he was
conscious of a sudden lightness of spirit, as of an exile nearing home.

The Arabs, sheltering behind the camels and horses they had shot, fired
continuously in the hope of destroying a weak part of the barricade or
killing some one behind it. Gradually they formed of the dead animals a
barricade of their own, and now that the bonfires were dying it was
difficult for the Europeans to touch the enemy behind cover. Consulting
together, however, and calculating how many dead each might put to his
credit, the defenders agreed that they must have killed or disabled more
than a dozen. The marabout, whose figure in one flashin