l kill him like
a dog."

"They'll never get in," he assured her. "Dougal said the place could
hold out for hours."

Another shot followed and presently a third. She twined her hands and
her eyes were wild.

"We can't leave him to be killed," she gasped.

"It's the only game. We're playin' for time, remember. Besides, he
won't be killed. Great Scott!"

As he spoke, a sudden explosion cleft the drone of the wind and a patch
of gloom flashed into yellow light.

"Bomb!" he cried. "Lord, I might have thought of that."

The girl had sprung back from the window. "I cannot bear it. I will
not see him murdered in sight of his friends. I am going to show
myself, and when they see me they will leave him.... No, you must stay
here. Presently they will be round this house. Don't be afraid for
me--I am very quick of foot."

"For God's sake, don't! Here, Princess, stop," and he clutched at her
skirt. "Look here, I'll go."

"You can't. You have been wounded. I am in command, you know. Keep
the door open till I come back."

He hobbled after her, but she easily eluded him. She was smiling now,
and blew a kiss to him. "La, la, la," she trilled, as she ran down the
stairs. He heard her voice below, admonishing McGuffog. Then he pulled
himself together and went back to the window. He had brought the little
Holland with him, and he poked its barrel through the hole in the glass.

"Curse my game leg," he said, almost cheerfully, for the situation was
now becoming one with which he could cope. "I ought to be able to hold
up the pursuit a bit. My aunt! What a girl!"

With the rifle cuddled to his shoulder he watched a slim figure come
into sight on the lawn, running towards the ridge. He reflected that
she must have dropped from the high verandah wall. That reminded him
that something must be done to make the wall climbable for her return,
so he went down to McGuffog, and the two squeezed through the
barricaded door to the verandah. The boilerhouse ladder was still in
position, but it did not reach half the height, so McGuffog was adjured
to stand by to help, and in the meantime to wait on duty by the wall.
Then he hurried upstairs to his watch-tower.

The girl was in sight, almost on the crest of the high ground. There
she stood for a moment, one hand clutching at her errant hair, the
other shielding her eyes from the sting of the rain. He heard her cry,
as Heritage had heard her, but since the wind was b