s. And now it seemed as if they had suddenly glided from
silence into the noise and turmoil of the fight, for from the shore came
the shouts and yells of the Malays, who were evidently engaged in a
savage attack upon the defenders of some portion of the station, and
Archie, in his excitement, uttered a low:

"Thank Heaven!"

"What did you say that for, sir?" whispered Peter excitedly.

"That horrible silence, Pete, made me afraid that you were right."

"Ah, yes, sir; and that all our poor lads were wiped out. It's all
right, sir, only that we ain't got no cartridges. But what are you
going to do, sir? We can't go on lying here."

"No, Pete, of course not," whispered Archie, though there was no need,
for the noise and tumult would have drowned his words even had they been
spoken aloud.

He raised the boughs, but nothing was to be seen, for the bungalow was
hidden by the smoke and mist now being borne by the faint breeze of the
coming daylight in their direction. But he could make out enough to
determine that an attack must have just commenced upon the mess-room and
its surroundings, while, in spite of the stillness in that direction,
the lad could gather that the defenders must be still holding their own.

A sudden sharp rustling and movement of the boat made Archie turn
sharply.

"Don't say nothing, sir," panted his companion, whose voice sounded as
if he had been running hard. "I couldn't bear it no longer, sir. I was
being smothered. Can't you hear, sir? They ain't cheering, but our
chaps is at work with the bay'net."

"Yes, yes, I hear," said Archie hoarsely.

"Well, sir, we are close inshore, and with a sharp run we could get in
and help."

"But it would be madness, Pete, to try and land with Miss Minnie now."

"Who wants to land with Miss Minnie, sir?" cried the lad fiercely.
"She's safe here. You tell her to lie low, and say that what's his name
is to pull up his anchor and run her a bit lower down, or across the
river out of danger till all's safe again."

"Impossible, Pete. We are almost unarmed, and it would be like
forsaking the poor girl at a time like this."

"What you talking about, sir? Here's two of us, and there's our poor
chaps dropping before these niggers' spears. Come on, sir! I must
speak, for I feel it's our duty to be there."

"Yes, Pete," replied the subaltern in a voice that he hardly knew as his
own; and rising clear of the bushes, he made his way to where he cou