They had barely finished these preparations when a deafening noise announced the renewal of the attack by the courageous besiegers who were shortly seen rapidly mounting the heights from the eastern side. The rifles were speedily discharged, but the enemy being well covered by the edge of the hill the result was trifling. In less than a moment they had appeared above the plateau and commenced the storming of the fort, utterly defiant of death. It was a real troop of heroes. But all their bravery could not break down the defence. Each head as it appeared above the palisades served as a target, and if occasionally a single one escaped from the well-aimed bullets to succeed in leaping into the enceinte, he was met by the lances and mandauws and mercilessly killed. In the meantime the rifle fire was uninterruptedly sustained through the loop-holes and caused heavy losses among the assailants. These still persevered, determined not to give way, displaying a devotion worthy of a better cause. Encouraging each other and hurling contemptuous epithets at the besieged, they mounted the parapet again and again, always with the same fatal result. While the whole garrison of the kotta were devoting their attention to the repulse of this attack, La Cueille, who seemed to have his own plans, was directing his regards to another point. His bullets were still speeding forth, but his thoughts were elsewhere directed. At last he fancied that he heard some noise on the north side. He then quickly repaired to the exterior of the kotta, crept like a snake along the plateau as far as its edge, and looking over saw a dense mass of men silently mounting the hill through the cranny. He had guessed rightly; the real danger lay here. The assault from the other side was only a feint, a brave sacrifice of heroes, in order to give their companions time and opportunity to accomplish their chief attack. As quietly as he had gone, La Cueille crept back, called Johannes and Wienersdorf, and ran to the kitchen to get a piece of burning charcoal, with which he set fire to the match. For a moment only, the Europeans saw the spark run along the ground to disappear through the palisades. They waited impatiently, but saw nothing more. The foremost of the enemies were already visible from the edge of the plateau. These leaped up, followed by others, until a hundred men were assembled on the top. Merciful Heavens! could the port-fire have become extinguished? that would be terrible. The Europeans opened fire upon the besiegers, but the number of the enemy became larger every moment, and they began to distribute themselves all over the plateau. The situation was becoming perilous, when, hark! there was a report so loud, so terrific, that for a moment besieged as well as besiegers stood motionless and horror-stricken. A fearful tongue of flame shot up from the ground as if a crater were opened; a thick cloud of smoke mounted to the sky, and one of the