“‘Shut the door!’ he shouted loud and stern; ‘do you hear—shut it!’
“The old baas looked wildly at Seth; and Seth he shook his head.
“‘Shut it,’ sed Jake; ‘in the name of our mother!’ and the ole man with a sort of groan pulled the door to, jamming my fingers.
“Outside were the noise of that fight, and inside were silence, and white set faces, and the tears running from Jimmie’s eyes.
“‘Let me out!’ he cried; ‘let me out!’ he kep’ on cryin’—‘let me out!’ and then he struggled to open the door.
“Then we heard Jake again.
“‘Good-bye,’ he sed; and we held our breath, till the fierce shout rose higher and higher, and we knew Jake were dead.
“Then the ole man’s beard curled up. He forgot about his other sons. He opened the door, and with a roar he ran into the Kaffirs, and Jimmie with him. Seth were follering, too, when an assegai whizzed into the room, and a Kaffir stood at the doorway, when Seth jabbed him in the stomach with the muzzle, and druv his fist into the face of another; then he pulled-to the door, and there were only him and Tom and me, with Willie dead and Harry gasping.
“Then Seth began to sing. He’d stop to shoot, then he’d sing again; and the sound of his singing were worse than the yelling of the Kaffirs swarming all round the house. Tom he stood up in the room tremblin’ and loadin’, his face black where the smoke stuck to the tears, and once and again he’d jump to a hole and shoot.
“And at last an ole pot leg struck Seth on the head and he sot down.