“Hold the door while I load, Ah Lo,” he said.
It took but a couple of seconds to discharge the cartridge and reload and close the breech, and then Rex shot one assailant just when Ah Lo struck down another. The last man threw down his weapon, but Ah Loʼs blood was up, and knowing that none of the party must be allowed to get away, he brought the butt of his musket down with all his strength upon the manʼs head.
“That has been sharp work, Ah Lo,” Rex panted. “Now, we must be off.”
“I donʼt think they are all killed,” Ah Lo said.
“Well, most of them must be, and certainly none of the others can be in a position to take up the pursuit. We had better not wait another moment, or we shall have the villagers out on us.” So saying he started to run.
“I will run,” Ah Lo said, “but there is no fear that the villagers will come out. When they hear the firing they will think that the Boxers are quarrelling among themselves, and certainly no one will venture out to see about it.”
They found the girls waiting at the appointed place, and they gave a cry of joy as Rex ran up.
“What has happened?” they asked together.
“The Boxers were nasty and were sending two men off to catch you, so we stopped them, and we had a tough fight, but none of them got away.”
“How many were there?”