Macintosh, Cleary, and two other men, the crack shots of the company, were ordered up into the balcony to try if they could show the attacking party that they could make a better use of their weapons than they could. Captain Reece was now up there, and the bullets were whizzing about and thudding into the logs in a nerve-shaking manner.
“Crouch down, men, till they are a bit tired of wasting their cartridges,” said the captain, standing erect himself, however; “you could not get a fair shot yet for the smoke.”
When they had done so, he sat on a block of wood himself, and was then protected by the balcony. The two lieutenants and the non-commissioned officers were below cautioning the men, who were now in position all round the zereba, against firing until ordered.
It was a picked corps, and they were perfectly in hand, so that not one single shot was fired during this first storm. And a storm it was; the air seemed perfectly alive with the rush of bullets, all aimed high. Whether it did not occur to the Arabs that the bushes of the enclosure were not impervious, or the watch-tower offered a more tempting mark, or the Remington rifle stocks did not suit their arms and shoulders, and came up high I don’t know, but certainly all the bullets which hit anything struck the wooden erection and the rock it stood upon. Splinters of wood and chips of stone were flying in all directions, but nothing was wounded which minded it, not a man or a camel or Hump, who thought the whole affair got up for his amusement, and barked with delight at the noise.
The leaden shower raged for about five minutes, died down to a sputtering, and ceased. Every man grasped his weapon and peered over the hedge, expecting a rush. But the enemy seemed to want to know whether they had annihilated everything with their fusillade, and kept close in cover. Slowly the smoke lifted, and rolled above their positions.
“Now there is a chance for you, Macintosh,” said the captain; “above that bush, do you see? About three hundred yards.”
Macintosh took a steady aim and pulled.
The man he aimed at staggered, and came down in a sitting position, seizing his right leg, which was broken, with both hands.
“An outer!” cried Captain Reece, who had his field-glass directed on the spot.
“A miss,” he said presently, as another man fired at an Arab darting from a distant to a nearer bit of cover.