"Try and keep the children quiet," said Mr Talboys in a suppressed tone, "or the blacks will hear us. Push on, young gentlemen; I'll bring up the rear and defend you." "I'll stay with you," I said; for it struck me that Chaffey might easily carry the child I had charge of, and so I handed it to him. "And I'll stay also," said Tom, giving his charge to Sinnet, who, with one of the black girls, was dragging another along. Mr Marchant had enough to do to support his wife and carry another of their progeny. The house was already in sight, but we could hear the tramp of the insurgents' feet coming nearer and nearer, though we could not tell whether we ourselves were yet seen. Mr Marchant and his family hurried on, probably sorry that they had not made more speed at first. We had our pistols ready, a brace each, in our belts, and our swords by our sides, should we come to a close encounter; but the blacks had, we concluded, firearms, and might shoot us down, should they see us, at a distance. I could not but admire the cool gallantry of Mr Talboys, with so much at stake, yet willing to risk his own life in the defence of those he had promised to protect. He stood for nearly a minute to enable his friend's family to get ahead. The ground rose gradually towards the house, and we could now distinguish a dark mass coming across the open space in the plain below. "Now we'll move on," said Mr Talboys; and we proceeded deliberately towards the house. "They must have got in now," he added shortly afterwards, speaking as before in a suppressed tone. It was time indeed for us to be hurrying on, for as we looked round, a party of blacks, forming the advance guard, and whom we had not previously seen, suddenly appeared, not fifty paces off. They saw us at the same time, and with loud yells came rushing up the slope.