It is a kind of declaration of war, and," I
added, as Stephen's sun-helmet leapt from his head, "there's the
answer. Down, all of you, and fire through the loopholes."
Then the fight began. Except for its grand finale it wasn't really
much of a fight when compared with one or two we had afterwards on
this expedition. But, on the other hand, its character was extremely
awkward for us. The Arabs made one rush at the beginning, shouting on
Allah as they came. But though they were plucky villains they did not
repeat that experiment. Either by good luck or good management Stephen
knocked over two of them with his double-barrelled rifle, and I also
emptied my large-bore breech-loader--the first I ever owned--among
them, not without results, while the hunters made a hit or two.
After this the Arabs took cover, getting behind trees and, as I had
feared, hiding in the reeds on the banks of the stream. Thence they
harassed us a great deal, for amongst them were some very decent
shots. Indeed, had we not taken the precaution of lining the thorn
fence with a thick bank of earth and sods, we should have fared badly.
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