Some of the ruffians had muskets; and whether in obedience to the orders of their leaders or not, three random shots were fired. This was enough to satisfy the conscience of Colonel Belthorpe, and he gave the command to halt, and the men came into line again across the road. "Ready!" he shouted; and the men all brought themselves into position as they had before been instructed. "Aim!" These orders and the movements of the men appeared to produce a decided sensation in the rabble in front of them; for they were simply a crowd, not formed in any order. Some of them took to their heels, and were seen running down the road at a breakneck speed. "Fire!" added the commander. A terrible yell came back as the men fired their rifles. That volley was enough for them, and they bolted before the smoke of the powder had blown aside. Two men were seen lying on the ground, killed or wounded, and the ruffians were too much shaken to give them any attention. Half-way to the river they halted again, as did the pursuing force. The enemy scattered at this point; but in a few moments the whizzing of bullets was heard over their heads by the defenders of the plantation. CHAPTER XXII THE FIRST SHOT FROM FORT BEDFORD Levi Bedford had made all possible haste to reach the fort, and the boys had not lingered far behind him, though they could not help giving some of their attention to the enemy on the other side of the creek. The ruffians remained at the position they had taken; and certainly they had made no progress in the accomplishment of the purpose which had brought them to the vicinity of Riverlawn. Probably if the darkness had not concealed the artillery party, those with guns would have fired at them. "Now, boys, the first order of Colonel Belthorpe was to build a fire, and we will attend to that," said the overseer, as he led the way to the rear of the stone building. "Of course I obey orders," added Artie, "but I don't believe much in the fire. As soon as it blazes up it will give the ruffians light enough to see us. Some of them have guns, and they will fire at us then." "What do you suppose these stone walls are for, Artie?" asked Levi with his usual smile. "They were put up to keep the ice cool originally," replied Artie. "Then they ought to keep us cool," said the overseer. "When the man with a big mouth opened it, the dentist told him he had opened it wide enough, for he proposed to stand outside. But we don't propose to stand outside, but inside, as soon as we have lighted the fire." "But we have to see what the ruffians are about on the other side of the creek; for you are not to fire a shot unless they attempt to build a raft," suggested Artie. "We can look through the port-holes, can't we?" asked Deck. "If they build a raft they will make a fire the first thing they do, and we can see what they are doing."