About fifty of the Huns who had made their way to the farmhouse were now heading directly for the spot where the British soldiers lay in their scanty cover. It was impossible to escape detection. "Stand by," whispered Alderhame tersely. He had taken over the command, since Setley was too weak to direct operations effectively. A guttural shout from one of the leading Germans proclaimed the fact that he had spotted the group of khaki-clad men. A regular fusillade was the immediate outcome of his discovery; but, with the usual indifferent marksmanship of the Hun, the shots flew either wide or else too high. The maxim, aided by rifle fire, gave the enemy a very unpleasant surprise, and before the first belt of ammunition was exhausted the Germans were bolting for cover. "Now for a good old shelling," thought Ralph. But he was mistaken. For some unexplained reason the German field guns had limbered up. Perhaps their presence was urgently required at another point. Instead, the swarm of infantry began to converge upon the isolated handful of Britons, until the position was surrounded by a dense mass of field grey-clad troops. Even then the Huns forbore to close. Sharpshooters crept forward, taking admirable cover, but, generally speaking, the enemy kept beyond effective rifle distance. "They're going to wait until its dark and then rush us," decided Alderhame. "By Jove, I never before played to such a crowded audience as this!" Slowly the time dragged on. Bullets from the skirmishers buzzed incessantly over the defenders' heads. The crew of the Tank replied leisurely, hardly ever throwing away a shot. The maxim was silent. It was no use wasting ammunition on individual foes. With disconcerting persistence, despite their losses, the Jagers drew nearer and nearer. Numbers of them concentrated in a hollow within eighty yards of the defenders' position, where, immune from fire, they prepared to rush the little band at the point of the bayonet, aided by the use of bombs. Suddenly disorder appeared in the hostile ranks. Men, bolting for cover, fled for dear life, many of them dropping from a fire more intense than that of Setley's party. The reason was soon apparent. Waddling over the undulating ground was a British Tank. Spitting out fire as she advanced the rescuing landship made straight for the place where the crew of her destroyed consort held their own, and, taking up a position so as to form a screen from the Germans' fire, she came to a stop. "Buck up, Setley!" exclaimed Danvers. "Don't keep us waiting. Here's plenty of room inside." But Setley was temporarily beyond the "bucking up" stage. He had fainted again. When he recovered consciousness Ralph was in a base hospital. Almost the first question he asked was whether his men were safe. Receiving an affirmative reply, he enquired whether the nature of his wounds would put him out of the running for active service.