The other missionaries now joined them, in answer to Barton's summons. The majority were young men, but two were middle-aged, and one a grey-bearded old gentleman. Each had his rifle or revolver, and, although they did not wish to be forced to fight, they had the determined looks of men who knew that their cause was a good one, and were prepared to die in its defence. Their positions at the wall had been settled some hours before, but the arrival of the Pages, Ping Wang, and Number One made a fresh arrangement necessary.
'I will post you above the gate, with Ping Wang, and Number One, as you call him,' Barton said to Fred, adding, 'I will make Charlie my lieutenant.'
'That won't do,' Charlie declared. 'I know nothing about military matters, but Fred does. He's a Volunteer, and a jolly good shot into the bargain. Make him your lieutenant.'
'Very well. Then you go over the gate.'
Charlie took up his position on a platform built over the gateway, on the inner side of the wall. Ping Wang was on his right, and Number One on his left.
'I came to the conclusion,' Barton said, as he showed Fred the defences, 'that it would be risky to make loopholes in the wall, in case, after a time, we should be unable to place a man at each. Therefore we built those platforms.'
The platforms were built at intervals around the wall, each having room for six or seven men. The defenders would have to shoot over the top of the wall, but cover had been provided for them by sandbags fixed securely along the ridge.
'Our women workers made those sandbags,' Barton remarked. 'They used table-cloths, rugs, curtains, and even some of their own dresses. They have been a great help to us.'
'By-the-bye, do your colleagues know how to handle their rifles?' Fred inquired.
'Mr. Wilkins, that old gentleman with the grey beard, was a good shot forty years ago; but from the time he first left England, until yesterday, he hadn't touched a rifle. However, he was practising yesterday and to-day, and I have no doubt that he will do well. My other colleagues had never handled a rifle in their lives until this morning, when I gave them a little instruction. I was a member of the Oxford University Corps.'