Ferrier obediently went on with the unarmed porters and his six men who had rifles, including the one captured from the sentry, John and Coja marching behind with the man who acted as messenger, turning every now and then to guard against a rush, and not hurrying their pace though shots were dropping at unpleasantly close quarters. There were loud shouts from the enemy lining both sides of the gap when they saw the safari suddenly sweep round to the right towards the spur of woodland. Several men on the northern side at once broke cover and began to rush across the gap. John saw that the best service he could do was to hold this portion of the enemy’s force in check until the woodland was reached, and so reduce their striking strength. The question was, could he and Coja and the one other man with him make things so hot for any of the enemy who tried to cross the gap that they would hesitate until it was too late? Another question which he dared not think about was whether the men with Ferrier would be steady enough to meet the attack from the southern portion of the enemy, which they could hardly escape. Telling Coja and the Baganda to shoot steadily, he took aim from behind a bush at the first man who crossed the gap, and dropped him. Coja aimed at the man immediately behind, but missed. A second shot from John, however, brought him down, and his companions, firing into the midst of a group of half-a-dozen who were following their leaders, gave a shout of delight when they saw two other men fall, and the rest immediately turn tail and scamper at full speed back to cover. "Come on," cried John. Leaving the bush from behind which he had fired, he ran towards another which would give still better cover and was at the same time slightly nearer the enemy. The distance was about thirty yards, and several shots were fired at them as they sprinted across. John felt a bullet slap through his helmet, but no other hit was made, and they reached the second bush safely. It afforded excellent cover against the enemy on the north side of the gap, but would have been useless against any that remained on the south side. These, however, had left their positions in order to deal with the safari making for the woodland, since it was plain to them that they would be at an immense disadvantage in the more open bush if the copse were once gained. Indeed, if they had had the courage and the quickness of perception to seize and hold this spur of woodland, the fate of the safari would almost certainly have been sealed.