CHAPTER XII.
A NIGHT ATTACK.
Realizing in an instant that the hiss of the fuse, like the rattle of the snake, betokened danger, Donald drew hastily back into the patio in time to be out of reach of the explosion which splintered the gate and tore it from its hinges.
Then, with finger on trigger, he awaited the coming of the foe.
It was a tense moment and the boy's heart beat fast. He had been in many trying situations, but never in one where the safety of so many others seemed to depend upon him.
He heard the sound of oncoming feet and intuitively threw himself upon the ground behind a little stone paling which surrounded a dismantled fountain.
The act undoubtedly saved his life, for an instant later there was a scattering volley and he could hear the bullets hit against the stone wall of the house behind him.
In an instant he pressed the trigger and a yell which followed gave evidence that the bullet found a mark.