"We got caught on the ’hop’ that time, sir; they saw us coming ashore and we had a fight for it. Managed to get up the slope near the wall, but then had to fall back again. Couldn’t make headway against them. Jones was wounded again—badly this time. Most of the chaps were knocked about, so we dragged him back among the rocks and kept the Afghans off till they cleared out up here to join in the loot. We found the dinghy on the rocks with her bottom stove in, so couldn’t send Jones on board, and we’ve brought him along with us—dodged the Afghans and hoisted him in over the wall. He’s down below—pretty comfortable; but Moore’s missing. No one’s seen him since we had the first ’scrap’, poor devil. I hope he’s killed outright. "Don’t you go fussing," he went on. "There’s five of us, besides Hartley and me, and we’ll pull you through—and the little lass too. We’re just off to line the veranda and the sand-bags there till those devils come at us again at daybreak. They’ll come sure enough then. I’m off now, sir." He left me alone again, for Miss Borsen had slipped away directly she had heard that there was another wounded man below, and she did not come back. To know that Mr. Scarlett and his men were safe and were on the veranda below put heart into me; but the position seemed so desperate that I wonder my brain didn’t throb itself out of my skull that night. It seemed to be trying to do so. The noise of the flames had died down; but scattered rifle shots rang out in the compound below every few minutes hour after hour, and the room seemed to be so full of smoke that I could hardly breathe. The old butler, going out to the balcony with food for the people there, gave me some water once, and I was very grateful. Towards dawn there was an almost complete lull, as if everyone was too tired to go on shooting. Mr. Scarlett took this opportunity to come in and tell me that, so far, the Afghans had not broken into the building where the transmitting instruments were. They had to cross the concrete tennis-court to get to it, and Ellis and his people had kept them out so far. "We’ve done our little bit too, sir," he added, quite pleased with himself. As dawn broke the Afghans first turned their attention to that outbuilding from the roof of which Ellis had punished them so heavily during the night. Of course I could not see this, but heard the uproar and the shooting, and in the middle of it Mr. Scarlett and Mr. Fisher came in (his left arm bound to his side) looking very anxious. "We’ll have to go along and bring Ellis out of it," the gunner said; "he and his chaps can’t hold out much longer. Don’t you worry, sir; we’ll be back in a ’brace of shakes’." Stooping, before he left me, he placed a revolver on the chair at the head of the bed. "If you want it, sir," he said, and I understood.