In spite of the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, the little garrison resolved to maintain their position. Little could be gained by flight, and all their property would inevitably be destroyed should they desert the hut. The risk they ran in either case was very great. They might pick off some of the savages, but there were so many that they might easily surround the hut and burn it to the ground.
“If we had two or three more fellows with us, we might bid defiance to the whole mob,” said Arthur.
“To my mind, if we was to shoot down that chap with the gun in his hand, the rest would show us their heels,” observed Sam Green, who had not before spoken since the appearance of the savages; “they none on ’em shows much stomach for the fight.”
Sam’s remark was correct. The savages were evidently aware that the defenders of the hut possessed firearms, and even the chief showed no inclination to expose himself. From their movements, however, it appeared that they were about to make a rush towards the hut. At that instant the tramp of horses’ hoofs was heard approaching, and a voice cried out—
“Open the door! Be quick! Let us in!”
James and his brother, who had been watching the savages from the roof, jumped down at the moment that a rifle-ball whistled by.
“That bullet was never fired by a black chap,” said Larry to Sam, as they also descended from their perches to receive the new-comers. The Gilpins, without hesitation, opened the door, and Craven with a stranger appeared, just dismounting from their horses, whose foam-covered bits and reeking backs showed that they had ridden at no slow rate.
“No time for words. If you have room for our poor brutes, take them in; if not, they must run their chance outside,” he said. “Here, we have brought arms and ammunition. We knew that you would be hard pressed, and have come to share your fate.”
“Come in, come in,” said James, leading in the horses, who, trembling with fatigue, were quiet enough.
The new-comers had brought a rifle, a musket, and two fowling-pieces, with powder-flasks and bullets. This reinforcement raised the confidence of the little party in the hut. The blacks, discovering Craven and his companion, made a rush to intercept them. They sprang in after the horses; but before the door was closed, a shower of darts and boomerangs rattled against it, and again a shot was heard, and a bullet flew by among them. Those inside hurriedly closed the door; but, almost before the bar could be replaced, the blacks were thundering with their clubs against it. James had been strongly averse to shed blood, even the blood of savages endeavouring to destroy him and his companions, yet there was no longer any other alternative; the blacks must be driven off, or they would burn down the hut. It became James’s duty to take the command, and to give the word. Loop-holes were speedily cut in the walls.