“Never mind, Mrs Ambrose,” said Montgomery. “You can always say you were present at a fight, anyhow. Not that the famous Arabits put up much of a fight, though.”
“No, indeed,” said Colonel Bayard sadly. “Why should they? They had no desire to fight. They were driven to it.”
“You wouldn’t say they’d not have been uncommon glad to kill us, if it could have been done without fighting, Colonel?” put in Brian slily. Colonel Bayard took him up sharply.
“Nothing of the kind. Why should they wish to kill us? It was a horrible mistake, and I could have prevented it all if the General had given me a free hand!”
CHAPTER XV.
—INTO THE FIRE.
Awakened at sunrise by the festive sound of a steam-whistle, the fugitives from the Agency turned out to view the approach of a vessel identified by Captain Franks as the Galaxy. European soldiers clustered on her deck, and an officer waved greetings from the paddle-box. As the steamers neared one another, Eveleen recognised him as her old enemy Captain Crosse.
“Too late, I see!” he shouted lugubriously. “We start off ek dum to rescue you, and you’ve done the rescuing yourselves!”
“Why, what have you got on board?” asked Colonel Bayard.
“Fifty men and ten thousand rounds of ammunition, colonel—and despatches. You were to hold on until the General came to relieve you.”
“To relieve me? Sir Henry is close at hand, then?”