The servants were squatting in a circle near their masters, and enjoying their share of the breakfast. The two Syces were Beloochees, the others were men from the Deccan--the regiment having been stationed at Poona, before going up into Afghanistan. Of these, the Syces alone understood the Afghan language.  
After the men had finished their meal, Yossouf strolled away by himself into the village. When he returned, Will saw that he wished to speak to him so, rising carelessly from the ground, he walked to the ponies--which were tied up near--and called Yossouf, as if to give him some instructions respecting them.
 
"Well, Yossouf, what is it? Have you learned anything?"
 
"No, sir, nothing. But the people no longer speak to me freely. They must have guessed, when they saw me speaking to you, that I was warning you; but I don't think things are right. The children are all in the houses, instead of playing about in the street. A few of the women are standing at their doors, but most of them are inside, too."
 
"But if the men are thinking of attacking us why shouldn't they do so, at once?"
 
"There are not above twenty or thirty men here, sahib. They may not think they are strong enough. Perhaps they have sent to some of the villages, for help."
 
"Likely enough, Yossouf; I did not think of that. Do you go up above the village, and have a good look round. I will try and persuade my friends to be moving."
 
Yossouf moved off at once; and Will stood for a minute or two, thinking what was the best to do. The position was not pleasant. Yossouf's suspicions might be altogether unfounded; but Will had found him to be so uniformly right, on former occasions, that he did not like to neglect his advice, now. After a little further thought, he joined his companions.
 
"Come," he said, "we had really better be moving. I believe we are in real danger."
 
The earnestness with which he spoke roused the others, who were all lying at full length on the ground.
 
"But as we said before, Gale," Fortescue urged, "why shouldn't they now attack us, if they wanted to? We have been here more than an hour."
 
"Perhaps they may think we shall all take a nap, after our tiffin," Will replied; "perhaps--as Yossouf thinks--they have sent off to some other villages, for assistance. He has gone up the hillside to look out. Anyhow, I can assure you, I think we had better be moving."
 
"It is beastly hot," Hammond said, getting up and stretching himself; "but as you are so earnest about it, Gale, perhaps we had better make a move. As you say, you know no end more of these fellows than we do; and you certainly ain't a fellow to get into a funk about nothing.
 
"Come on, boys, we had better do as Gale tells us."
 
"That's right," Will said, cheerfully. "And look here, if we get away from here without any disturbance, and find it all right, we can halt again, at the first shady place we come to; and stop there for two or three hours, till it gets cool."
 
"Wait a moment," he went on, as Hammond was about to order the ponies to be saddled. "Just let us settle what we had best do, should they attack us; which, if they mean it, they will do when they see we are moving off.
 
"I have been thinking it over. We have all got bullets in our pockets, to drop into our guns over the shot, in case of necessity. But these smooth-bore fowling pieces are of no good, except at close quarters; while the Afghan matchlocks will carry straight, a long way. Therefore, if we had to make a running fight of it, we should get the worst of it; for these fellows could keep up with us, easily--besides, there are the servants. Therefore, if a shot is fired, my advice is that we should make a dash at the chief's house. Seize that, and hold it."
 
"Yes, that would be a good plan," Fortescue said, for they were all sobered now, by Will's gravity; and convinced that there must be good grounds for his belief in danger.
 
"Look here, Gale, we are all senior to you in the date of our commissions, but you have seen no end of service and adventure; therefore I vote that you shall be commanding officer, until we get back to camp."
 
The others willingly agreed.
 
"Very well," Will said, "I will do my best.
 
"Hammond, will you tell your servant to get ready for a start, at once. Speak to him quietly and carelessly. Then, as the men move up more towards the ponies, tell them--in Hindustanee--to go about their work quietly but, in case of any trouble with the Afghans, to out with their swords, and join us in a rush at the chief's house."
 
Hammond carried out his instructions. The two Beloochees were not taken by surprise; for they, as well as Yossouf, had been feeling uneasy at the disappearance of all women and children from the scene. The other men looked startled; but they were stout fellows and, as all the native servants, were armed with swords, to enable them to resist sudden attacks by the country people; and as they had unbounded faith in their masters, they went about the work of packing up the plates and dishes, and preparing for a start, quietly enough.
 
As the Syces began to put the saddles on the tats, the Afghans spoke quickly and angrily together. Two or three minutes later, Yossouf arrived. He had evidently been running, for his breath came quick; but he now walked forward in a leisurely way.
 
"Two large parties are coming, master; one down the valley, and the other across the hills. They have got flags with them, and I am sure they are going to attack us."
 
Just at this moment an Afghan lad joined his seniors, and spoke rapidly to them. Will judged at once that he also had been placed on the watch. The chief of the village, accompanied by two or three of his men, now stepped forward.
 
"Ask the sahibs," he said to Yossouf, "why they are in such a hurry--why they want to start in the heat of the day? They had better wait till it is cooler."
 
Will did not wait for Yossouf's translation, but answered direct:
 
"We have duties at the camp, and must return at once."
 
The chief was surprised that one of the young officers should speak his tongue so fluently.
 
"It looks as if you were not pleased with the hospitality of our village," he said, "that you should hurry away so quickly."
 
"We are content with it--so far--but we must be off, now.
 
"Bring up the ponies quickly," he said to Yossouf. "Never mind those things, there is not a moment to be lost."
 
Yossouf and the servants brought up the ponies. The chief laid his hand on one of the bridles, and drew a pistol.
 
"Kaffir dogs," he said, "you shall not leave us, at all."
 
Will's hand was already on his revolver and, before the chief could level his pistol, he fired; and the Afghan fell dead.
 
There was a shout of rage from the others, and their long matchlocks were leveled It was well the party were prepared, or all might have been shot down, at once; but the instant Will fired, his friends raised their double-barreled guns to their shoulders and let fly the contents among the Afghans who--thrown into confusion by the sudden and unexpected attack--fired wildly, several of them dropping, from the effects of the shot.
 
"Now," Will shouted, "to the house, everyone of you!"
 
There was a rush and, before the Afghans knew what had happened, the little party had burst through those standing at the door of the house, and had barred and bolted it within. There were but two men inside; and these, running upstairs, leaped from the windows. A wild screaming was heard from the women and children.
 
"Yossouf, tell these women that we don't want to hurt them; but that they must be silent, and keep the children quiet, We have got enough to think about without this frightful row, inside. Then, when you have got them quiet, put them all in one room together, upstairs, and keep guard at the door. See that none of them leave the room; for they might steal down and open the door, to admit their friends, while we are busy.
 
"What! Fortescue, are you hit?"
 
"I am done for!" the young officer replied, faintly; "one of their bullets has gone through my body; but never mind me, now."
 
As he spoke he tottered, and would have fallen; had not the others supported him, and gently laid him down on a heap of skins, which served as an Afghan bed. Then--leaving his servant to attend to him, for a minute--the others ran upstairs, to see what was going on, without.
 
"Be careful!" Will exclaimed. "Don't show a head above the roof, or at a loophole, or you will get a bullet in your brain, to a certainty. Stand well back, so that they can't see you."
 
Already a pattering fire of musketry had broken out, round the house; but not an Afghan was to be seen, every man having taken his position in shelter.
 
"There is nothing to do, at present," Will said. "When the other parties arrive, they may make an attack; but I don't think they will do so, till night.
 
"Hammond, you had better go down to Fortescue, at present. One of the Syces can take Yossouf's place on guard over the women, and he can help you. The lad is a good nurse, but I fear there is nothing to be done for the poor fellow."
 
A few minutes later a wild outburst of shouts and yells, and a great firing of guns, announced that the other parties had arrived; and the cracking fire of the matchlocks around the fort became incessant. The defenders did not attempt to return it. It would only have been throwing away lives, uselessly, to approach any of the loopholes. In a quarter of an hour, Hammond rejoined his companions.
 
"He is gone, poor fellow!" he said. "He never spoke again. The bullet went close to the heart. I think he has bled to death, internally.
 
"I have handed his revolver to one of the Syces, and his gun to the other. Your man, Yossouf, has a revolver."
 
"What on earth are we to do now, Gale?" Plater asked. "You have been right thus far and, if it hadn't been for you putting us up to make a rush here, we should have been done for, long ago. But we are not much better off; for here we are, cooped up, and the betting is a hundred to one against our being rescued, in time. No one will know where to look for us and, though we may beat them off two or three times, in the end it is likely to go hard with us."
 
"Couldn't we send a messenger, with the news of the fix we are in?" Lowther asked; "though I don't see how any one is to get through."
 
"That's what I have been thinking about, ever since I first planned coming here," Will said; "but I am sure no one could get through. The Afghans know the importance of it and, when it gets dark, they will be so thick round the place that a mouse couldn't make its way through them, unobserved."
 
The situation was gloomy enough; but there was no lack of good spirits among the young officers, the danger causing their blood to course rapidly through their veins. Will sat on the floor, apart from the others. They had made him their commanding officer, and the responsibility of thinking for them devolved upon his shoulders.
 
Suddenly a thought struck him, and he leaped to his feet, with a shout.
 
"I've got it!"
 
"You will get it, if you don't mind," Hammond said, dryly; as a bullet passed through one of the loopholes, and struck the wall an inch or two from Will's head. "But what is it?"
 
"When it gets quite dusk we will call a parley, and tell them we don't want to keep the women here. They are only in our way, and eat up the food; so we will open the door, and let them go."
 
"But what will you do that for, Gale? You were saying, a short time ago, that the women could be kept as hostages."
 
"So they might, Hammond; but it will be more useful to us to let them go. There are seven women here. Six of them shall go out; and with them, in the clothes of the seventh, Yossouf."
 
"Capital! Capital!" the others exclaimed. "Don't you think they will notice him?"
 
"No," Will said, "we won't do it till dusk, and some of these women are as tall as he is. They will hurry them away as quickly as possible, so as to recommence the attack and, wrapped up as these Afghan women are, no one could see the difference. Once fairly away, we can trust Yossouf for finding an opportunity of slipping away, and bringing us help."
 
Will now laid the plan before Yossouf, who at once agreed to attempt it. The day passed slowly, the fire of the enemy being kept up, without intermission.
 
"Now," Will said at last, "it is getting dark enough, let us put the plan into operation. In the first place the women must be separated, and taken into separate rooms; the one Yossouf has fixed upon, as nearest his height, into a room by herself. Then Yossouf must tell the old mother of the chief that they are to be released; and that she must show herself on the roof, and make them stop firing, till they have gone out. While she is doing that, he can slip down and dress himself in the robes of the woman. She must be gagged, to prevent her screaming, or making a row, as her companions go out."
 
Greatly surprised was the old woman, at being told that she was to be released. These Kaffirs must be mad, she thought, to give up their hostages. However, she at once proceeded to carry the orders into effect.
 
Before raising her head above the roof, she uttered a loud quavering cry--the cry of welcome of the Afghan women. The firing without instantly ceased. Again raising the cry, she stepped out on to the roof; and shouted that the English did not want to keep the women, and that the door would be open for them to come out--providing the Afghans promised that no attempt to enter should be made, and that none should move from their present places, until the women had fairly left.
 
There was a shout of surprise and s............