t.

Poor little Dabby, though, was shot dead while entering the breach the
shell of our nine-pounder had made in the outer palisade that protected
the Arab defences; and then, finding a second fence composed of similar
baulks of timber in front of us, as strong as that we had surmounted,
and that the fire of the Somalis increased the nearer we got to them,
our chaps, staggered by the fall of poor Dabby, I must confess it, all
at once began to cut and run!

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.

BABOON VALLEY.

"Stand by!" roared `old Hankey Pankey' from his perch on the top of
Larry's shoulders, noticing our hasty retreat from the left of the
stockade, our fellows indeed rushing back in their scurrying flight into
the midst of the centre column and mixing it up into irretrievable
confusion. "Steady there! Face round, my men, stand firm!"

Just at that moment, though, when starting forwards again, with the
captain still pick-a-back on his shoulders, Larrikins stumbled over a
dead Arab that lay in front of him, and down came he with `old Hankey
Pankey' all in a heap together, with a couple of Somalis, at whom they
were going full butt.

This second catastrophe broke up our ranks, some of the chaps--only a
few, though, I am proud to say--bolting into the bush; but Mr Chisholm,
who was leading the rear division, waved his sword in the air, and cried
out for volunteers to rescue our captain.

At once, the whole lot of us that were left followed him up to the
front, where Larrikins and `old Hankey Pankey'--the latter of whom of
course could not rise of his own accord, by reason of the injury to his
legs--were fighting as only Englishmen can fight amidst a perfect horde
of Arabs, who had poured out from the stockade on seeing us retreat.

"Hurrah, boys!" cried Larry, as we came up at the double, firing away
with our rifles right and left, and digging our sword-bayonets, till
they were dyed red with blood, into the body of every Somali who barred
our onward progress to the help of our comrade and the captain. "Give
it to the bloomin' beggars hot!"

We did not need the advice, however, as the Arabs themselves could have
borne testimony to, for with a wild rush, that carried everything and
everybody before it, we drove our foe back into their stronghold, and
recovered `old Hankey Pankey,' who was at once hoisted triumphantly up
by a couple of marines. These gallant fellows, I should add, to give
all honour to the corps, stood st