“All right!” Rex shouted, “donʼt fire, whatever you do.”
A minute later he and his companions climbed the barricade.
“Well, have you succeeded?” the midshipman asked.
“Yes, thanks to your advice, we have disabled the guns. We have not brought the pieces with us, but we have buried them in the ruins where they are certainly not likely to be discovered.”
“No fighting?”
“No, we have not had to draw a trigger.”
“Well done! I heard a terrible din right out in that direction, and feared that you had been captured.”
“No, we had done the business before they got the alarm, and were able to make off without being seen. Then we joined them and rushed in pursuit of ourselves; but when they scattered in all directions we kept straight on, shouting that we should overtake the fugitives.”
“Well, you have done a first–rate job, and as a result we shall have a comparatively quiet time to–morrow, for their shot generally struck near us. Shall I report the affair?”
“No,” Rex said. “We have agreed that we will say nothing about it. We might get a blowing–up for acting without orders. We donʼt want praise, and are well satisfied to have silenced those troublesome guns.”