"Very well: I am going to crawl. Take care you don't show yourselves."
He was rather astonished at his lack of nervousness; but the events of the last few days had in fact exercised a bracing influence upon him. He crawled on all fours as rapidly as possible along the exposed section of the path, rose to his feet on reaching the spot where the buildings gave him cover, and in another few minutes greeted his brother.
"Well done, old chap!" said Bob heartily. "I hardly expected you to get back yesterday, but it's a great relief to see you. You had no trouble?"
"Not with the machine, but we came across a lot of hillmen marching south, and they potted the major in the arm, and riddled the petrol cans, so that I ran short. But they gave me some paraffin at the tower, and it serves surprisingly well. It's lucky we had a second carburetter."
Just then a bullet sang overhead.
"Can you come to the house for a minute or two?" said Lawrence. "I've got a good deal to tell you, and you can't attend to me and the enemy at the same time."
"All right. I'll leave Gur Buksh in charge. They've done us no harm yet--inside at any rate; but I'll give you all the news. Come on!"
Seated in the house, Lawrence repeated the substance of the conversation between Major Endicott and Captain Fenton. Bob listened in amazement.
"By George! it's a big thing," he exclaimed. "No wonder we were puzzled. It's desperately serious, then."
"Yes, and this is the serious part for us. The major wired all about us to headquarters, and the commander-in-chief wired back that we must hold on at all costs for a week. He made no bones about it: simply said it must be done."