He went to a loophole the native had completed. Some twenty or thirty men were coming down the hill; the lesson given to the horsemen had not been without its effect on them also, for they were taking to what cover boulders and bush afforded. He waited till he got a good view of a man making his way from one shelter to another, and as he fired the Boer fell headlong. A dozen rifles flashed in reply; two or three bullets went through the roof, which was only of felt spread over a light framework, the others pattered harmlessly against the wall.
"Look out occasionally to see what the mounted men are doing, Peter. There is little chance of these fellows on the hill making up their minds to try a rush across the open ground, and though they may be good shots, their chance of getting a ball through a hole two inches wide and three high is not very great; it would be as well to make two more, so that we can move from one point to another."
Peter soon finished his work.
"May I fire now, baas?" he asked eagerly.
"Yes, but make sure of your aim. I have fired about twenty shots and at least eighteen have told. Certainly eight, counting those at the horsemen, have been fatal, that is what keeps them so quiet. A number of misses would encourage them. Always rest the muzzle of your rifle on bottom of the loophole. You had best fix upon your man, and watch the shelter where he is lying, then you won't be hurried, and can fire directly he moves or changes his position."
"Well done!" he exclaimed two or three minutes later, when, as Peter fired, he saw a Boer pitch forward, while the native raised a triumphant shout.
For hours the exchange of rifle-fire continued.
"They won't move till it is dark," Yorke said at one o'clock; "then will be the dangerous time."
"They will be able to creep up to the door and blow it in when it gets dark, baas. The best plan will be for you to slip out and run; I will keep on firing, and they will think that we are both here; and when you have got a good start I will run too. The Boers on foot would never catch me; and as to the mounted men, they would not find me in the dark, I could hear them and they would not hear me, and I could always find some bush or boulder where I could hide if they came my way."