Page:Littell's Living Age - Volume 127.djvu/33

Rh down on her with a gentle smile. "You see, as long as the bullets go up here, you are in no danger."

"Not afraid, except for you," she replied, laying her disengaged hand on his arm, while the large eyes looked up wistfully from the pale face. "Oh, Robert dear! pray be careful of yourself; Mr. Yorke has been telling me of the risk you ran just now. I don't want to be selfish, but think how much to all of us depends on you."

"Don't be alarmed, my child," said her husband, smiling again, and patting her on the shoulder; "it was necessary to show these scoundrels that we were not afraid of them; but now that we are all safe inside, I am going to set an example of caution to everybody."

"But cannot we women be of some use? It is dreadful being made to sit here doing nothing. Cannot we help to load your rifles, or something of that sort?"

"Better keep here awhile. I am in hopes the rogues will take themselves off in an hour or two, when they see there is nothing to be got by stopping."

"Hark! what is that?" cried Olivia, starting, as a sharp crack was heard outside.

"Our fellows opening fire," said her husband. "You will soon get accustomed to the noise. I have told them only to fire, sir," he continued, addressing the brigadier, "when they see a chance of doing execution; that is in accordance with your wishes, I believe:" and so saying, he hastened away.

Strict orders had been given to the garrison to be careful of their ammunition, which was limited, and not to fire unless with a chance of doing execution, and, so far, not a shot had been returned to the continued but harmless fusilade directed at the building. Some of the mutineers, emboldened at this, had jumped over the wall and taken shelter behind the trees, thus getting a few yards nearer to the building, from which position they could aim more leisurely.

"Here is a case within the colonel's orders," said Passey, who commanded the bath-house picket, as from a loophole in that building a sepoy could be seen distinctly reloading his musket, hidden by the trunk of the tree from the main building, but exposed to view from this projecting angle. "Now, M'Intyre, you are a dead hand at an antelope running, I know; see if you can't hit a pandy standing. Here's one of old Cunningham's Westley Richards; you shall have the first shot."

The subaltern, who was standing on an empty beer-chest placed against the wall, took the rifle which Passey handed to him, and aimed through a loophole, the others watching the result through other loopholes.

M'Intyre fired; the sepoy staggered and fell.

"Well done!" cried Passey, getting on the box to look out; "you have drawn first blood. The beggars will be a little more cautious about showing themselves now, I expect."

"That rifle shoots the least thing too high," said M'Intyre, returning the weapon, and resuming his own. "I aimed at the fellow's stomach, but I think I hit him through the heart. I'll try my own, next time, major, if you please."

"Here they come on our side," said Egan to Yorke, as the two, also mounted on empty boxes, stood looking through the loopholes of the west veranda.

"I see the bushes moving, but I can't see any fellows."

"You can hear them, at any rate," said the other, as the bullets lodged in the sandbags with a thud, or, passing over their heads, rattled against the back wall of the veranda.

Indeed, the garden seemed to be now full of men, who kept up a continuous but ill-directed fire against the building.

"The fellows fight more like red Indians than respectable sepoys," observed Mr. Egan; "however, they are sure to give us a chance before long."

Presently he fired. "Look here, Yorke!" he cried; "come here if you want to see one of the noble enemy. Do you see a pair of legs just by that plantain-tree? That's all I could see; but I aimed where I thought the body must be, and the legs haven't moved since. See, they are dragging the body away. I must have another go at them," and he fired again, and the shot appeared to take effect, for the dragging operation ceased.

Thus the affair went on, a scrambling fusilade kept up by the assailants, the garrison only returning the fire when there was a fair chance of doing execution. A man climbing over the wall too deliberately, fell headlong from the top under M'Intyre's unerring aim; and the same marksman had sent a shot into a group of men standing in the direction of the court-house, a distance of nearly four hundred yards, laying one low and dispersing the