"No: we had already made up our minds to that." "I don’t want to be inquisitive, but--er--have you--in short, what’s your financial position, Bob?" "I don’t know. We had very little money, of course; everything in the house is burnt, including Uncle’s cheque book, and all his papers. I don’t know what he left, but I suppose there’ll be no difficulty in proving our title to what there is?" "None at all, I should think, though I’m not up in law. You’ve got some ore worked, of course; copper, isn’t it? Pity it isn’t gold." "There’s better than copper, at all events. There’s a heap of unworked ore in a cavity just beyond the compound, and Uncle said it’s almost pure silver." "That’s first-rate. I recommend you to set the men to get it up at once. We’ll transport it to India somehow or other, and I’m sure I hope it’ll make you millionaires." "Not much chance of that," said Bob with a smile. "But it will give us something to jog along with." "You must be ready to start almost at once. We marched light; I’ve food for only two or three days, and short commons at that. This corned beef is very good: any more of it?" "I’ll inquire of my store-keeper. I haven’t seen him lately: he wasn’t in the fighting line, and I dare say he’s alive." When Captain Fenton with the remainder of the relieving force arrived, the men were set to work after a meal to render the track impassable. It was fortified at the bend with a series of entrenchments and wire entanglements, space being left only for horsemen to pass in single file. Before the enemy had recovered from the shock of their reverse, the position which had given them so much trouble when defended by a mere handful of almost untrained men was rendered ten times more formidable, and held by ten times as many trained troops. On the next day they felt forward with their artillery, but being met by a hail of shells from the mountain batteries, they soon withdrew their guns, and finally turned their backs on the scene of their wasted labours. Major Endicott followed them down the valley with the greater part of his force, Lawrence accompanying him on one of the troopers’ horses. He took two guns in case they should turn at bay, but they showed the utmost alacrity in retreating, and for many miles only the stragglers of their rearguard were ever in sight. When the pursuers, however, were within a short distance of the scene of Lawrence’s little engagement on the way back from the bridge, they noticed a number of Kalmucks marching over the hills to the left. They were no doubt following the path by which the Kalmucks on that occasion had managed to outflank Lawrence’s party. There being none of the enemy in sight along the track, Major Endicott deemed it necessary to climb into the hills and pursue the fugitives until he had made sure that no concentration was being attempted.