"They gave a hail for Harry and went inside, and each one looked to see the shiny, brass caps were hard down on the nipple--while Tom, he laid out the round bullets, and the greased rags for wroppin' 'em in, and the slugs handy. Seth were tellin' how the Kaffir ast him questions, and how he seed the assegai under his blanket--then there came a deep sound rolling along the ground, which made me hide away in the barrel churn, and made the brothers all go silent. It were the war song of the red Kaffirs, deep from their chests, slow and boomin', and solum, and in between there were the shrill crying of the women, follering behind the fightin' men with the mats and the pots. "Ole baas Tolver stood at the door looking for Harry, and he give a shout for him to hurry; and the Kaffirs came over the crest of the hill. Jimmie pushed his rifle through a hole in the wall, with a gasp in his throat. "`Don't shoot!' sed his father; and he looked away to the woods for his two sons. And so they stood, waiting and watching. "I crept out of the barrel to see what they were looking at so set, and there I seed the Kaffirs slipping down the hill, from rock to rock, edging all the time towards the wood, and others coming up over the ridge, their bodies stripped and oiled for war, and their faces smeared with red clay. "`My God!' sed the ole man under his breath; then he bellered out `Run!' "I looked between his legs, and seed Harry and Willie comin' up from the wood, and walkin' jes' 's if they were comin' in to dinner. "The Kaffirs yelled when they seed them, and started running. Harry threw up his gun, and they dropped down, hiding away behind nothing. I yeard Harry laugh. Well, they came on at that fool pace, and all on a sudden the Kaffirs came leaping and dodging down. The two brothers they stood still, with their rifles up and fired; then they come on loading, and fired again. "`Run, Willie,' sed Harry; `let's see who can get in first,' and with that he made to run, and Willie let out full speed, with the Kaffirs yelling like mad. When he got near the door he looked round and seed Harry walking backwards with his rifle ready, and the Kaffirs hanging away back and whizzing their assegais. He made 's if to start back, but the ole man caught him by the arm and yanked him in. "`Fire!' sed the ole baas, and he and the three boys blazed away, Jimmy letting rip a handful of slugs. "Well, the Kaffirs they dropped, crawling for shelter, and Harry came in as cool as you please, with an assegai in his hand that he picked up. Then he seed me crouching down, and laugh'd a'most till he cried, for I were covered with the leavings of the churn. "They took their places inside the room, each one at a hole, and began firing by fits and starts, Tom standin' ready with a charge of powder from the horn each time. "`They're going to rush the cattle,' sed Oll; `and we can't prevent 'em from here. Some of us had better get into the shed.'