"Run, Surajah! We must risk it. Keep on the edge of the road, and dodge as you go. The chances are they will run down below, to see what has happened." At the top of their speed, they dashed down the road. No shot was fired from the wall, Dick's conjecture that the first impulse of the sentries would be to run down below having been justified. They were a couple of hundred yards away, before two shots were fired from the gate. The bullets whistled by harmlessly. "We are all right now," Dick cried. "They can scarcely see us, and we shall soon be out of sight altogether." Five or six more shots were fired a few seconds later, as the men from the guard house reached the gate. On looking back, when they had gone another hundred yards, they saw a number of figures on the road. "Not quite so fast, Surajah," Dick said. "It is going to be a long chase, now. We have got three hundred yards start, and they won't be able to load again, running at full speed." For a time, their pursuers gained somewhat upon them; then, gradually, they began to straggle, as the effect of the speed at which they were running told upon them. When they reached the ruined village, there were four men running together, some three hundred yards behind. The rest were a considerable distance in the rear. "Another mile or two, and they will all give up the chase except these four, Surajah, and if they turn out better runners than we do, we can make a stand. There are some more huts another two miles farther, and we will fight them there." They were going slower now, for although the downward course of the road helped them a good deal, the run was telling on them. Not a word was spoken, until they reached the second village. When they came to the first house, they stopped simultaneously, and looked round. Their pursuers were not more than two hundred yards behind them. "In here, Surajah," Dick said, as he ran into the ruined hut. Its roof was gone, its door hung loose on its hinges. It had but one window, a small one, looking up the valley. Dick laid his gun on the sill, which was nearly level with his shoulder. "I must wait until they get pretty close," he said, "for I am panting so that I can't keep the barrel steady, even with this rest." "I will kneel down outside," Surajah said. "Mind, I will fire first, Surajah. Don't you fire until they are within twenty yards of you. By that time I shall have loaded again." Dick had more time than he had expected, for as soon as their pursuers saw them enter the hut, they slackened their pace considerably. They were within about eighty yards, when Dick held his breath and standing, for a moment, immovable, took a steady aim and fired. One of the men stumbled in his run, took a step or two forward, and then fell on his face. The others paused for a moment, and then, with a fierce yell, ran forward.