A single shot rings out, clearly heard in a momentary cessation of the hideous din. It is fired by a mere boy; but it does its work, and Phillpotts without a cry falls dead, still grasping his sword. [Illustration: Phillpotts at Oheawai] He lies somewhat apart; but Captain Grant of the 58th is not far away, a ball in his heart, and Beattie, subaltern of the 99th, is dying. Two sergeants have fought their last fight, and thirty of rank and file--the brave unnamed--will never charge again. Macpherson, leader of this forlornest of forlorn hopes, is grievously wounded; so are Ensign O'Reilly and Interpreter Clarke. Three sergeants and seventy-five of the rank and file are down. Not ten minutes at it, and three-fourths of the one hundred and sixty who started have fallen, dead or wounded; and of them all not one has passed that cruel fence. Will that bugle never blow? Ah! At last--"Retire!" The man watching from the hill, the man who commands, realises now that he has demanded the impossible, has set his men to take an impregnable fortress. And again, as if imploring them to obey, the bugle wails--"Retire!" The assault by escalade upon Oheawai is over, and the Maori has once again repulsed the Briton. But whose is the fault? FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 60: His father's name.] [Footnote 61: Some of which required thirty men to raise them by means of ropes.] [Footnote 62: Soldiers.] [Footnote 63: Statement of one who fought on that day.] CHAPTER XVIII THE FALL OF THE BAT'S NEST When Colonel Despard about a fortnight later turned his back upon Oheawai, he left the _pa_ in flames behind him. At no time had much been seen of the enemy, except during Kawiti's dash and that fatal ten minutes of assault; so the quiet aspect of the _pa_ attracted no particular attention. Then Waka's men noticed one night that their challenging watch-cries were not answered, though the howling of dogs suggested that the place was still occupied. Cautious investigation before dawn revealed the state of matters. Several dogs were tied up to posts, so that their howling might deceive the besiegers; but the enemy had stolen away, leaving an immense amount of material behind them, probably with the intention of tempting Waka's men and so checking immediate pursuit. Without more ado the _pa_ was burnt and the return to Waimate begun. The storm of popular indignation now broke out anew, not only on account of Colonel Despard's failure--for it was failure, the Maori counting as nothing the evacuation of a _pa_ in time of war,--but because the Governor listened to the advice of Mr. George Clarke, Chief Protector of Aborigines, and refused to prosecute the war until it should be seen whether Heke and Kawiti would sue for peace. They did nothing of the sort and, when it became known that Kawiti was building a _pa_ which he boasted would defy any number of big guns, the Governor was popularly called upon to resign.