"Fire!" shouted Captain Roby from behind; but the six men halted before obeying the ill-judged command. For, in response to the Boer's threat, Lennox had sprung forward to strike at the presented piece, the edge of his sword clicking loudly against the barrel of the rifle, turning it sufficiently aside to disorder the desperate man's aim, so that the bullet whistled by him and over the heads of his men, before sending a little shower of granite splinters and dust from the side of the cavern. Before the Boer could fire again Lennox had him by the throat, and in another minute he was held up against the cavern wall by three men with their bayonets, while the sergeant wrested the rifle from his hands and tore away the man's well-filled bandolier. "Ah!" he snarled; "cowards again. Always cowards, since the day when you ran away from us at Majuba." "Hold your tongue, sir, before you are hurt by some of the men who know that they have one of the bravo miscreants before them who lay powder-mines ready to destroy those they dare not fight in the open field." "Tell the dog I'll have him gagged as well as bound if he does not keep his tongue quiet," said Captain Roby, coming up. The Boer laughed mockingly; and Captain Roby, who seemed unable to restrain the anger rising within him, turned away. "See that he has no revolver, Lennox," he said hoarsely, "and try to find out whether he has any companions." "He wouldn't say if he had," replied Lennox; "but we'll soon search and see. Sergeant James is making him fast. Yes, he had a revolver," he continued as he saw the sergeant take the weapon and thrust it inside his belt. The next minute the prisoner was secure between two men, and the light-bearers went forward, to be brought to a standstill almost directly by the contraction of the cellar-like place, out of which there was no way in that direction. Having satisfied themselves of this, the party hastened back to the tree, and stood looking about for a time, examining a few cracks and rifts, before the orders were given to mount to the upper cave--a risky and unpleasant task, for the tree-trunk was loose. The men, however, for the most part made light of it, and as soon as the big chamber was reached they proceeded to thoroughly examine that, when, to the delight of all, its real character of a hiding-place and storehouse belonging to one of the native tribes was revealed: for scores of huge woven baskets were piled-up, looking at a few yards' distance, with no better illumination than the military lamps, like masses of rock, but containing hundreds upon hundreds of bushels of hard, sweet corn, failing which there would soon have been only one chance of escape for the detachment, and that by a bold attempt to cut their way through.