“Yes, and it’s lucky you stayed here while I went for water, or that fellow would have potted me, sure. As it was, I think he didn’t miss me by more than a foot.” “He certainly shoots well, and he has a good rifle. That was a long shot. I wish I had my rifle here; I don’t know what I shall be able to do with this revolver.” The two bandits were in consultation together, and evidently were examining the cove that sheltered the boys. After a few moments of talking one of them crossed to the farther side of the ravine and walked down on that side, while the other came down on the same side where the boys were. They proceeded slowly and deliberately, but rather as though that were their customary mode of walking, for they made no attempt at concealment. “They don’t appear to have much respect for us,” said Sidney; “if they had, they wouldn’t walk out in the open like that.” “They think that shot of mine last night was a miss,” said Raymond,--“that I tried to hit the man and couldn’t. I presume they know what kind of a gun I have, too, and think it’s no good. I wish I knew how far it will carry. It seems to me it ought to be good for two hundred yards.” The cliff back of the boys was so nearly perpendicular that it would be impossible for any one to pass along its face, so they knew they need not fear an attack from above. They felt pretty sure, indeed, that there were only the two men who were in sight in the ravine, who had placed themselves in ambush for them in the narrow gorge, and had been disconcerted when the travelers stopped just before reaching them. They believed, if they could stand the bandits off until dark, that they would become discouraged and return to Timour Khan Shoura; though the deliberate way in which the first of the men had attempted to snipe Sidney did not look as though they would be easily discouraged. The wall of the cove was rough and irregular. In one place a great rock stood out from the back in such a way as to afford protection from up the ravine. It was nearly on a line with the jutting spur that formed the inclosure, so it was protected also from in front. The boys made a hasty examination of their citadel and took refuge at one side of the big rock at the back. The two bandits were in plain view, coming leisurely down the ravine, one on each side. Each man carried a long gun. They were keeping a close watch of their quarry, and presently the one on the near side of the ravine paused and tested the distance with a shot. The bullet flattened itself against the rock of the lower side of the cove, about on a line with the boys’ heads. “Gee! Sid,” exclaimed Raymond, “that’s good shooting. We’ll have to be careful how we get out of shelter.” “I never saw anything so cold-blooded,” said Sidney. “They come down just as deliberately as though they were shooting rabbits.”