“And shoot down these people?” I said huskily.
“If we do not, they will shoot us. Poor wretches, they probably do not know the power of our guns. We must give them the small shot first, and we may scare them off. Don’t you fire, my lad; leave it to me.”
I nodded my head, and then our attention was taken up by the arrows that kept flying in, with such good aim that if we had exposed ourselves in the least the chances are that we should have been hit.
The doctor was on one side of me, Jack Penny on the other, and my tall young friend I noticed had been laying some cartridges very methodically close to his hand, ready for action it seemed to me; but he had not spoken much, only looked very solemn as he lay upon his chest, kicking his legs up and sawing them slowly to and fro.
“Are we going to have to fight, Joe Carstairs?” he whispered.
“I’m afraid so,” I replied.
“Oh!”
That was all for a few minutes, during which time the arrows kept coming in and striking the roof as before, to fall there with a tinkling sound, and be collected carefully by Ti-hi and his companions, all of whom watched us with glowing eyes, waiting apparently for the order to be given when they might reply to the shots of the enemy.
“I say, Joe Carstairs,” said Jack, giving me a touch with his long arm.
“Yes; what is it?” I said peevishly, for his questions seemed to be a nuisance.