"And so you tackled all this lot single-handed?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Ten."
"I thought you said five."
"Ten, sir, ten in all; five came up at first, but in as many moments they were all on their backs; and then up came another five of them, each heavily armed. I never forget; hang it! I couldn't forget such a job as that very easily. Five of the second lot fell at my first fire; I toppled over three more, and the other one—"
What Mr. Mole might in his ardour have been tempted to draw for upon his glowing fancy, it is impossible to say, for just as he reached this point in his fanciful narration, up came Nabley.
"Hullo!" he said, as he caught sight of the wounded brigand; "here's the missing man."
"This," cried the rest of the people present as if with one voice.
"Yes, this is the man I shot down at my first fire; he must have crawled away to hide; why, where is Mr. Mole running to?"