As we came back to the front side I saw that thirty or forty men were already shovelling the breastwork back into the trench. This pleased me. Then he took me through the door—covered with bullet marks and the dents of rifle butts—as I wanted to see where best to make a defence should the wall itself be captured. I went all round the buildings, and came to the conclusion that his own house would be the most suitable. It was strongly built; it had a raised veranda running round it, and was almost overlooking the left-hand corner of the loopholed wall—the corner nearest to the _Bunder Abbas_. This was the house on the roof of which the Maxim was already mounted, and from the parapet there it would be easy to pick off any Afghans who had gained a lodgment on the wall itself. Another point in its favour was that the well was close to it—in the rear. I urged him to get sand-bags and pile them up round the veranda and in the open door-ways or windows. I also urged upon him the necessity of bringing in food from the telegraph stores and also all the reserve ammunition. All my arguments could not convince him that this was necessary, and he pointed out that, whatever happened, he could not abandon the telegraph instruments in the other building. "We must keep them working at all costs," he said stubbornly. He had not said this many seconds before up came a messenger, followed by an excited Eurasian "operator", to tell him that the overland wire to Karachi had been cut again some fifteen miles out. "That solves part of the difficulty," I said, smiling. "You cannot pass on cable messages, so won’t want so many of the staff at work." He too seemed relieved, and told me that half his fellows had been lining the wall all last night and the other half working the instruments. "They can’t keep awake twenty-four hours out of the twenty-four. Now they’ll be able to get a little sleep. "Oh, I forgot," he went on; "a dhow which came in last evening brought some passengers for Old Jask. They stayed here during the night, and are waiting to see me at my office, though how they think I can get them through I don’t know. By the way, they brought a letter for your gunner. I’ve been carrying it about in my pocket. Here it is," and he handed me an envelope addressed in Arabic. "You might give it him." I caught sight of Miss Borsen coming towards us and evidently wishing to speak to Mr. Fisher; so, as I did not want to worry her with my presence, and had done all I wanted to do, I took the letter and went down the slope to the dinghy and so back to the _Bunder Abbas_. "Here’s a letter for you," I told the gunner. "It’s not Jassim’s writing this time." He grinned as he read it. "It’s from the governor of the Muscat fort. He says that Jassim’s got out. I didn’t imagine he’d keep him there long after my back was turned."