“They are not Boxers,” the midshipman said, “they are regular troops. Those guns are Krupps, and the Boxers have no guns of that sort. I will go back with you. Two eyes are better than one; there is only the flash to guide us, for they are using smokeless powder.”
They went back to the point that he had suggested, and stood looking earnestly till they saw the flash. Both agreed that they were five or six yards too much to the left. They accordingly moved a little in that direction. Five minutes after they saw another flash.
“This is just about right,” Rex said; “there is a window just overhead. The house looks to me as if it were empty; at any rate I will go in and see.”
It turned out to be as he thought.
“All right! I will leave the lantern in the house and light it as we come along, which will be about twelve oʼclock. I shall be glad if you will keep your eye upon both lights and see that they burn steadily. Probably they will not require attention, but at the same time, as the success of the job depends upon both keeping alight, it is as well to run no risks. There is, perhaps, more fear of the one on the barricade coming to grief than of this. One of your sailors might topple it over.”
“You neednʼt be afraid of that. I will put a man to sit by the side of it, or rather to sit down behind it in shelter, for the bullets whistle pretty close over that point sometimes.”
“It would be a very good plan,” Rex said, “if you would get him to put his hat in front of it and take it away again about every quarter of a minute, so as to make the light twinkle. You see there are a good many lights in the houses at night, and at a distance we might easily make a mistake; but if this one were to be kept flashing we could hardly go wrong.”
“A good idea again, Bateman! I shall see that that is done. Is there anything else?”
“Well, I think that after we have been gone five minutes it would be an advantage if you would make your men fire half a dozen shots. Those snipers would be sure to answer at once, and we should then get some idea of their situation and probably be able to avoid them.”
“That shall be done,” said the middy. “The danger will, of course, be in spiking the guns.”