Chapter 5

THE FORT IN THE WILDERNESS.

All, the Danvers, except, perhaps, Tommy, who was too young to take things very much to heart, awoke the next morning with a weight on their minds, and not, as Helen said afterwards, "with a bit of birthday feeling about them."

Hal was ashamed of himself. Though he was unaware, of course, that they had overheard his conversation with Dodds, he guessed from their downcast faces that they knew that he intended to desert them on his and Drusie's birthday, and was not going near the fort.

He was more ashamed than ever when, lying beside his plate at breakfast, he found one of the handsomest pocket-knives he had ever seen. It had no less than four blades, besides so many other weapons that, as the man who sold it remarked to Drusie and Jim, "it was a carpenter's tool-chest in miniature."

And a dreadful feeling of remorse came over Hal when he remembered that he had neglected to get something for Drusie. It was not that he had forgotten her birthday either--seeing that it was on the same day as his own, he could not very well do that; and when he had gone to school he had quite made up his mind to put aside at least half of his pocket-money every week, and save it for her.

"It does not matter in the least," Drusie said eagerly, when Hal began to stammer out his shamefaced apologies. "I don't want a present from you one bit. I know quite well that boys must have a great deal to do with their money at school."

At that Hal got rather red. He remembered the regular weekly visits to the "tuck-shop;" and he knew that if he had only denied himself a little, Drusie might have had her birthday present.

"I did ask nurse to advance me some money when I came home," he said in self-defence, "but she would not."

Drusie assured him again that she had not expected a present, and begged him not to say anything more about it. And so nothing more was said; and although Helen was burning to ask him what he had done with his shilling, she remembered her promise to Drusie, and did not make any unpleasant inquiries.

Half an hour later Drusie and Jim, having fed all the animals, were loitering on the sunny terrace together when Hal, looking very spick and span in a clean suit of flannels, came out with his bat under his arm.

"I suppose you are going to play cricket," said Drusie in a tone from which she tried to keep the wistfulness she felt.

"Well, yes; I am," said Hal, carefully avoiding the reproachful gaze of Jim's brown eyes. "Dodds wanted me particularly, or else, you know, Drusie, I should have stayed with you, and done what we always do on our birthdays."

This explanation was meant as a sort of apology, and Drusie never could bear any one, especially Hal, to apologize to her.

"It doesn't matter, Hal," she said generously, winking away a troublesome tear that would tremble on her eyelashes. "You have a right to enjoy yourself in your holidays, and, of course, you are bigger than all of us now."

"Do you mind very much about my going, Drusie?" Hal said suddenly; "for, if you do, I will throw Dodds over, and come and defend the fort."

A flash of joy passed over Drusie's face, but the next moment it died out, and she shook her head. She knew her brother better than he knew himself, and she was sure that, if he gave up his own wishes for theirs, he would regret it long before the morning was over.

"No, Hal," she said. "If you promised Dodds, you ought to go."

"Well, don't say that _I_ did not offer," said Hal, very much relieved that the offer had not been accepted.

"No, I won't; and it was very good of you," said Drusie warmly; and Hal, feeling that he had behaved very generously, went on his way whistling a cheerful tune.

"It is a good thing that Helen was not here," said Jim, "or Master Hal would not have got off so easily. I know she is burning to give him a piece of her mind."

"Oh, I hope she won't," said Drusie, in real distress; "and he has been so nice about it. You heard him offering to stay, Jim?"

"Yes," said Jim, "I heard him, and I thought you were very wise not to accept. He would have been sorry long before the fight was over."

Meanwhile Hal, feeling very well pleased with himself, hurried on, and reached the cricket field just as a distant church clock was striking nine.

Dodds had not yet arrived, and Hal thought with pleasure of the promise Dodds had given him that he should go in first. And he meant to stay in too; Dodds should not get him out so easily as he imagined. He only hoped that Dodds would not get tired of bowling to him, and turn him out willy nilly.

That was the worst, he reflected, of playing with a boy so much older than himself. At school Dodds was an immensely popular fellow, and a new and comparatively small boy, as Hal was, would have been very much snubbed if he had ventured to say a word against him. But here Hal could not help seeing that Dodds was rather inclined to be selfish. And Hal was quick not only to see but to resent selfishness in other people.

He had plenty of time to think over the faults in the character of his friend, for half-past nine and then ten struck, and still he had not put in an appearance. Hal began to get impatient, for the sun was gradually getting hotter, and soon it would be too warm to play with any comfort. It really was too bad of Dodds to treat him so.

He wondered what the others were doing, and whether they had begun their fight. If it had not been for Dodds, he might have been with them now, instead of dawdling away the whole of the morning doing nothing.

For another half-hour Hal waited, and at the end of that time he came to the conclusion that Dodds did not intend to turn up at all.

"He _is_ selfish," he thought indignantly. "Here have I spoiled the whole of my birthday morning waiting for him. I might have been defending the fort all this time and enjoying myself."

Here his conscience whispered that he might also have been helping his twin sister to enjoy her birthday; and when he remembered how bravely she had concealed her own disappointment, and how unselfishly she had told him to go and spend his birthday in the manner that pleased him best, he began to see how very selfishly he had behaved.

"I will go to them now," he thought, starting up; "there are heaps of time to have a rattling good fight before dinner."

And so there would have been, but--alas! for his good resolutions--as he jumped to his feet something fell out of his pocket. It was the little packet which he had bought last Saturday.

For a moment he hesitated; then down he sat, and picked up the packet.

"I will have just one," he said, "and then go and play with them."

"One" proved to be a cigarette, for cigarettes were what the little packet contained.

Ever since he came home, he had been trying to master the art of smoking, and had not yet succeeded. Each cigarette made him feel worse than before. But with a perseverance worthy of a better cause he would puff steadily on, and try hard to believe that he was enjoying himself.

One or two of the elder boys at his school--Dodds was not among the number--had boasted that they often smoked in the holidays, and Hal had been fired with the idea that it would be a fine thing to be able to say when he went back that he knew how to smoke too.

And this was the secret of much of his altered behaviour, of his mysterious absences, and more than all of his frequent pale looks and irritable moods. The discomfort he felt when the cigarette was actually between his lips was nothing compared to the very disagreeable sensations that always followed. He would feel sick and dizzy, and suffer from a headache for hours afterwards; but as soon as he recovered he would return to the charge and refuse to acknowledge himself beaten.

This morning he met with no better success. He began to feel ill long before he had half finished his first cigarette, and by the time he was half-way through the second the most painful qualms seized him, and forgetting the fort and the fight and everything else in his extreme misery he rolled over on the grass, and spent a most unhappy morning. At dinner-time he crept into the nursery looking so pale and wretched that nurse was really alarmed.

"I can't think what has come to you, Master Hal," she said. "You never used to suffer from these dreadful sick headaches. You had better go straight and lie down, and I will have some soup sent up to you."

Hal was thankful to accept her advice. The sight of the roast mutton, and the currant tart with Devonshire cream, which formed the nursery dinner that day, made him shudder; and going to his own room, he flung himself on the bed, and after having taken some of the soup which was brought to him, he fell asleep.

"Which," said Helen, as she and the rest peeped at him through a chink in the doorway, "is _one_ way of spending a birthday."

"This birthday has been a failure altogether," said Jim. "I thought the morning was never coming to an end, and what we are to do this afternoon I am sure I don't know."

"You won't take my advice and let us have a fight by ourselves," said Helen. "It might not be much fun, but, anyway, it would be much better than dawdling away the whole day."

But the others did not agree with her. They felt that without Hal the whole thing would be lacking in spirit.

"I had meant to order a wagonette and take you all for a nice drive," said nurse, who was sorry for their disappointment. "But now that Master Hal looks so queer, I don't like to leave him."

"Hal has spoiled our whole day," said Helen in a grumbling tone, as they all sauntered somewhat aimlessly across the garden.

"Poor Hal!" said Drusie softly; "if it comes to that, he is not having a very nice day himself, Helen."

"And he has not spoiled our feast, Helen," put in Tommy. "We are going to have that all the same--aren't we, Drusie?"

"Oh yes," she said cheerfully; though, to tell the truth, the feast had lost all charms for her. She was not even looking forward to seeing them drink her wonderful wine.

Though they had not intended when they started to go near the fort, almost without their knowing it their steps led them in the direction of the Wilderness, and scrambling over the gap in the hedge, they pushed their way towards the camp. This was a small clearing in the surrounding thicket, which was always used by the attacking party as a meeting-ground and a store-house for ammunition. There it lay ready for use--piles and piles of sandy balls, of all shapes and sizes.

They really could not bear to look at them, and turning away they went in single file down to the fort. The flag that had floated so defiantly from its summit all day might as well be hauled down, for if it rained in the night it would be spoiled.

A narrow path led from the camp; and when Drusie, who was leading the way, came within sight of the fort she paused and gave vent to a mournful sigh. The flag, waving gently in the soft summer breeze, looked so beautiful, and it did seem such a pity that it was to be taken down in so ignominious a manner.

She advanced into the open, thinking, as she did so, how, if there had been any one to defend the fort, they would have been obliged to skulk from bush to bush, taking advantage of every scrap of cover.

She looked round and smiled to see that, from the mere force of habit, the others were darting cautiously from bush to bush, exposing themselves as little as possible to the imaginary fire from the fort.

It would have been well for her had she taken the same precaution, for the next moment a shriek, that was half of pain and half of delight, broke from her.

She had received a stinging blow--one that was evidently aimed from a catapult--on her hand.

"Jim," she cried, "Hal _is_ in the fort. Hurrah, hurrah! We are going to have a fight after all!"

Here another bullet, not so well aimed as the last, whizzed past her, and drove her to seek shelter in the nearest bush.

"Are you better, Hal?" she called. "And do you really want to fight?"

There was no answer to the first question, but a shot that struck her just above the ankle was a sufficient reply to her second; and, quite regardless of the pain, she gave another loud whoop of joy, in which the other three joined.

"We must get back to the camp," Jim cried, "and arm ourselves. This is altogether too one-sided an affair."

Bitterly now did they regret the rashness which had led them to approach in such a confident, careless manner. Yet, at the same time, they could not help admiring the wiliness which the enemy had shown in thus reserving his fire.

His aim was deadly; but, with a generosity that was truly noble, he did not take advantage of the fact that they were without their armour, and refrained from hitting their faces.

Almost every shot found its mark on them, and at last, despairing of being able to wriggle away in good order, they rose to their feet and made a dash into the thicket.

Rushing pell-mell to the camp, they tied their dish-covers over their faces, and, arming themselves with as much ammunition as they could carry, returned to the clearing.

But now they were more prudent. Silently they stole through the Wilderness, advancing with such caution that hardly the creaking of a twig betrayed their advance; and, keeping themselves carefully concealed, they suddenly hurled the big balls at the fort, throwing them high, so that they should drop through the top. A great noise of spluttering, followed by a fit of mingled coughing and choking, told them that their fire had taken ample effect, and had even partially disabled the enemy.

"Let's rush the fort," cried Jim; and breaking into the open, he headed a wild dash.

Their united attack had quite silenced the fort, and they anticipated an easy victory. Springing on to a projecting ledge just outside one of the loopholes, Jim's head was already above the level of the summit, and his outstretched arm was within a foot of the flagstaff, when something hurtled through the air, and, to Jim's intense astonishment, a coil of rope fell heavily over his shoulders, and slipped to his waist.

"A lasso, a lasso!" Drusie shrieked. "Look out; it is tightening."

The warning came just in the nick of time. Taken utterly by surprise, Jim yet did not lose his presence of mind.

Grasping the rope with both hands, he kept the knot from growing tighter; then sliding through the noose with the slipperiness of an eel, he dropped to the ground. But unluckily he caught his foot in the noose, and although he immediately twisted it free, he fell sprawling to the ground. In that position he afforded a splendid mark to the enemy, who got two good shots at him before he could move.

The others had wisely retreated to the thicket; and there Jim, limping somewhat from his fall, joined them.

"That lasso is a splendid idea," said Drusie enthusiastically. "I wonder how Hal ever came to think of it. I don't believe he has been ill at all, but only just pretending, on purpose to give us this lovely surprise."

"It was a lovely surprise," said Jim, laughing. "I thought I was done for that time. I say, Drusie, we shall have to be awfully careful, or we shall be taken prisoners before we know where we are."

"The only way is to keep at a safe distance and throw high," said Drusie; "for the balls break as they fall, and if they drop on to his head they fill his eyes and his mouth so full of sand that he is obliged to take off his helmet and clear it all out."

"Well, we can't do better than follow the same plan again," said Helen. "Only, don't you remember what we did last year? Some of us threw high, while some of us aimed at the loophole and blocked it up."

"I've got a much better idea than that," said Drusie. "I vote that we scatter, and creep as near to the fort as ever we can, and then when I give a low "coo-ee" we will all fire, and make a dash for the fort. And if we do that altogether, Hal won't know which to aim at, and so one of us ought to get the flag.--What do you say, Jim?"

"I approve," he said; "only look out for that lasso trick."

Then they separated, Jim and Tommy working their way up the stream, while Drusie wriggled through the thick undergrowth, with a view to approaching the fort at the back. To Helen was given the easier task of skirting round the clearing, keeping well under cover of the bushes, and holding herself in readiness to dash into the open and fire when the signal was given.

It seemed to her a task that was almost too easy, and, as she crouched under a bramble bush, it occurred to her that if she advanced gradually nearer to the fort she would be of much more use to her party than if she merely followed her instructions and remained where she was. Accordingly, dropping on her hands and knees, she left the safe shelter of the denser part of the Wilderness, and crawled out to a bush.

Encouraged by the dead silence that reigned within the fort, she flattered herself that her stealthy approach was unperceived by the enemy, and so, after pausing for a moment, she advanced still farther and gained another bush.

Crouching there, she cautiously raised her head a few inches and looked round. Five or six yards farther on there was a thick clump of young willows: if she could reach that in safety, it would be a capital place in which to halt until Drusie gave her signal.

But, unfortunately, between it and where she now lurked grew a thick bed of nettles, which made it impossible to creep thither on her hands and knees. Once more she glanced at the fort Hal seemed to have gone to sleep, and emboldened by that thought she rose to her feet for a swift, silent rush to the willows.

She was half-way across, and was feeling very well pleased, when something hurtled through the air with a loud, swishing sound, and the next moment she was jerked violently to the ground, while an exceedingly uncomfortable sensation round her waist told her that she had been caught by the lasso.

Hardly had she realized it when the strain on the rope tightened, and she was dragged through the bed of nettles.

"Help, help!" she shouted; "I am lassoed. Drusie!--Jim!"

Instantly the silent Wilderness became alive with shouts and cries.

"Don't let the rope tighten," Jim called, bursting through the bushes to her rescue. "Slip out of it, Helen."

That was easier said than done, for her struggles had already drawn the noose so tight that, although she resisted to the utmost of her power, she was being hauled rapidly towards the fort.

Her captor showed no mercy; he did not even allow her to get to her feet; and though she clutched vainly at brambles and branches, and even at the stalks of the nettles, he was too strong for her.

She was within a few yards of the fort when Jim reached her side, and grasping the rope with both hands, he was in the act of widening the noose when he was struck heavily across the shoulders by a second lasso, and before he could even throw up his arms they were bound tightly to his side.

Then he was even in a worse plight than Helen, for she, at least, had the use of her hands; and, though he flung himself backwards, and twisted and contorted his body in every conceivable way, he could not release himself. Neither could he prevent himself from being drawn helplessly towards the fort; and it occurred to him that Hal must have grown wonderfully strong lately, for he seemed to have no difficulty at all in dragging both his captives in together.

"Drusie, Drusie!" he shouted despairingly, as he was flung to the ground, and, fighting every inch of the way, was dragged and bumped nearer and nearer to the fort.

With a sound of breaking branches and rending of clothes, Drusie was hastening to the rescue. She had not been able to come sooner, because she had penetrated so far into the dense thicket that she could not readily extricate herself. However, by leaving scraps of her clothing on every sharp thorn, and getting her hands and legs terribly scratched, she forced her way out at last; and keeping a wary outlook on the fort, she tried to unloose the knots that bound Jim.

"Once let me get my arms free," he said, "and I shall be all right."

It was clear that the fort had exhausted its stock of lassos, for no third coil of rope came flying out. Instead, however, the enemy kept up a brisk rain of bullets, which harassed Drusie very much, and prevented her from releasing either Helen or Jim.

Every now and again the wily enemy would stop firing, and give a tug to the two ropes which bound his unfortunate captives, and they would be jerked a foot or two nearer the fort.

Drusie was in despair; unless more help could be brought upon the scene, her two best men would be taken prisoners.

"I am coming," shouted an eager voice at that moment; and Tommy, dripping wet from head to foot, came running up, armed with as many big balls as he could carry. Right up to the very walls of the fort he went, and threw his balls into it in quick succession.

There was a muffled shout of indignation, which suddenly died away into a smothered choking sound, while, at the same time, the strain on the ropes relaxed. Jim and Helen did not lose a second in taking advantage of this, and, slipping back the running knots, they freed themselves.

"Let's capture the ropes," cried Drusie, flinging herself upon them. But at this point the enemy, who had been choked and blinded for the moment, evidently recovered himself, for with the rapidity of lightning the two lassos were drawn back again.

"Get back," shouted Jim, and, seizing Helen by the hand, he retreated with all possible speed. And it was well they did so, for hardly had the lassos been drawn in than they were flung out again with so strong and well-directed an aim that, had Jim not set them the example of flying, one or more of them would have been made prisoners again.

They did not pause to take breath until they were within the shelter of the Wilderness, where they threw themselves, hot and exhausted, on the ground.

"This was a failure," said Drusie, and she looked severely at Helen, "and it was all your fault. You did not obey orders. If it had not been for Tommy, the day would have been lost. You ought to be court-martialled, Helen, and I daresay you will be later on when the fort is taken."

"I am very sorry," said Helen in a shamefaced manner, "but I thought it would be such a splendid thing if I could get right up to the fort before the attack began."

"You should not think, then," said Drusie. "You should only do what you are told.--And, by the way, Tommy, what happened to you?"

"I fell into the stream," he said ruefully. "Helen's shrieks startled me so much that I lost my balance just as I was crossing it."

"It was the narrowest escape we have all had yet," said Jim. "I vote that we try the same plan again, and whatever you do, Helen, don't go and spoil it again by thinking to do something clever."

Before Helen could retort, Tommy jumped up with a shout of defiance, and snatching up two balls that lay ready to his hand, discharged them right into the centre of a bush a few yards off.

"What on earth are you about?" exclaimed an indignant voice; and Hal, his face covered with sand and mud, sprang out of the bushes and made for his younger brother.

But Jim flung himself between them, and, aided by Drusie, they brought Hal, kicking and struggling, to the ground, and sat upon him.

"The fort is ours," cried Drusie joyfully. "Run, Helen, and get the flag before Hal can release himself."

Helen dashed off to do as she was told, but as she was flying across the clearing she was suddenly brought up by a perfect hailstorm of bullets, which played round her in all directions, and caused her to fly back to the camp with the astounding information that it was not Hal who had been defending the fort, but somebody else.

"If you had not behaved like a set of duffers who had all lost their heads, I could have told you that myself," said Hal crushingly. "But instead of letting me explain, you all flung yourselves upon me as if I were your greatest enemy."

"Well, of course, we thought that you were," said Drusie. "We thought that you had sallied out from the fort to take us all prisoners. But if it is not you who have been in the fort all this time, who is it?"

But that was just what none knew; and Hal was as much in the dark as the rest. He had awaked a quarter of an hour ago, feeling all right again. "And so, I thought," he added, "that I had been rather a pig about this birthday, and that, if you would have me, I'd come out and defend the fort."

"Have you?" cried Drusie joyfully. "Of course, we will--won't we, Jim?"

"Rather," Jim said; and that word of assent was heartily echoed by both Helen and Tommy. "But I say, Drusie, if it is not Hal in the fort, who on earth can it be?"

"I know," Drusie said, after a moment of puzzled silence; "it must be our friend--Jumbo's boy."

When Hal heard of the lassos he cried out that it was no less a person than Dodds.

"I know it is he," he cried excitedly, "for he is awfully keen about lassos. He has been reading about the cowboys in Texas, and the other day he was practising on the lawn."

"Whoever it is," Drusie said, "he defends the fort awfully well. I don't believe we shall ever capture it."

"Oh yes, we shall," said Jim, "now that Hal has come to help us."

"Just fancy Dodds playing with you kids all the afternoon," Hal said in a tone of surprise. "I wonder what ever made him do it."

Fired with the idea of showing Dodds that the attacking party had received a valuable reinforcement, Hal threw himself with ardour into the fight, and--Drusie having resigned her post as captain in his favour--led sally after sally against the fort. But the aim of the lassos was so deadly, and the hailstorm of bullets so incessant, that time after time they were obliged to retire.

Once Drusie, who had wriggled herself through the thick hawthorns at the back of the fort, was within an ace of taking the flag; but, just as she had climbed up on the roof, the defender, whose face was completely hidden by his helmet, made a grab at her, and she was obliged to fly for her life.

"We must alter our tactics," Hal said, as, hot and exhausted from the prolonged struggle, he withdrew his little army into the recesses of the Wilderness. "We are not a bit nearer taking the fort than when we started."

"Not so near," said Helen; "for our ammunition is giving out. We have only about twenty or thirty balls left. This is quite the hardest fight that we have ever had."

"We must get the fort," Hal said, setting his teeth. "We are four to one, and it will be a great disgrace to us if we don't."

"But that one is such a one," Drusie said.

"I told you Dodds was a splendid fellow, didn't I?" said Hal eagerly. "But, all the same, I wish he was not quite as splendid now. But listen; I have got a glorious plan in my head, if we can only carry it out."

But at that moment he was interrupted by a loud, piercing scream, which was followed by another and another; and, glancing hastily round, Hal saw that Tommy was missing from the council.

"He was with us only a minute ago," Drusie exclaimed.

Springing to their feet, they all rushed out, and there they saw Tommy, bound and helpless, being hauled rapidly up to the very walls of the fort.

He had brought his sad fate upon himself. As he was following the others into camp, he had seen the enemy spring out of the fort and run into the bushes, and, quick as thought, Tommy had darted off to capture the flag during his absence. Had he only reported what he had seen to his commander, a proper attack might have been hastily organized and the fort captured; but Tommy was in such a hurry, and so anxious to gain all the glory for himself, that he slipped off without saying a word to the others. And when it was too late he found that the desertion of the fort was only a cleverly-planned trick on the part of its defender, who had crashed noisily into the bushes, in the hope of deceiving the attacking party into the belief that the fort was empty. As soon as he saw that Tommy was going to fall into the trap, he slipped quietly back, and, lassoing Tommy just outside, dragged him a prisoner into the fort.

"Serves him right," said Jim. "He had no business to act on his own account like that."

But it was all very well to say "serves him right." Perhaps Tommy had met with no better fate than he deserved, but he, nevertheless, brought about a very serious check to his party; for, while one of their number was in the hands of the enemy, no attempt to take the flag could be made. The prisoner must first be rescued. Sometimes he was ransomed with ammunition. But their store was too low for them to be able to do that now. They could better afford to spare Tommy than cannon-balls.

Meanwhile, complete silence reigned in the fort. The Union Jack waved triumphantly from the flagstaff, and the captive Tommy had disappeared from view.

"Got you rather neatly, I think," his enemy had said, as he pulled him in. Even in that moment of bitter humiliation Tommy gave a start of surprise as he recognized his captor. Drusie was right, for the defender of the fort was indeed Jumbo's boy.

"Oh," Tommy gasped out, as, breathless from the struggle he had just gone through, he stared at his captor, "it is you, is it? Hal said he was sure it was Dodds, but I am jolly glad that you are not Dodds. He is conceited. I should not have liked to have been taken prisoner by him."

"Oh, you wouldn't, wouldn't you?" said the boy with a twinkle in his eyes. "But who told you that I--that Dodds, I mean--was conceited? Young Danvers, I suppose?"

"No; Hal didn't. He likes Dodds. But we others don't think very much of him."

The boy laughed.

"Dodds is a great friend of mine," he said. "I shall tell him what you have said. But never mind that now. Tell me what I am to do. Can you be exchanged or ransomed, or are you allowed to escape if you can?"

"I don't think they will ransom me," Tommy said reflectively. But he was far too wary to tell the enemy why. "And I mayn't try to escape until one of them has touched me; and till I am rescued the fort can't be taken."

"That's good news," said the boy. "I shan't let you be taken in a hurry. How will they try to rescue you?"

Tommy shook his head. He knew better than to allow himself to be drawn into giving any information, and the boy laughed at his caution, and climbing on to one of the two empty orange boxes, which were the only seats that the fort contained, he kept a good lookout.

Tommy climbed on to the other, and standing on tiptoe was just able to peer over the edge of the fort.

The open space that surrounded it was deserted, and although Tommy searched the bushes with anxious eyes he could not see any signs of his fellow-besiegers. He knew that Hal must be exceedingly angry with him, and that if the attack on the fort could have been carried on while he was a prisoner, he would have been left there as a punishment.

But, as it was, he comforted himself with the thought that, for the sake of capturing the flag, they would rescue him as soon as ever they could.

Presently his sharp eyes caught sight of Drusie creeping from bush to bush. He was afraid that the boy had seen her too, for, stepping down, he picked up a lasso and coiled it in readiness.

"Hi, you," he said, imperiously addressing his prisoner. "You must get down and sit on the floor."

"Not unless you can make me," retorted Tommy; "and if you are holding me down, you won't be able to fight."

There was so much truth in that that the boy went back to his box again, and Tommy was permitted to remain upon his.

And now the situation grew exciting, for the rescuing party advanced in full force and without any real attempt at concealment. Tommy wondered what was their plan of attack.

The boy was puzzled too, and as they approached he glanced sharply from one to the other. Drusie darted from bush to bush, a cannon-ball in either hand. Hal, with nothing in his left hand, but with his right concealed in his pocket, followed her, and Helen and Jim skirmished about in a somewhat aimless fashion on their own account.

But all the time they drew steadily nearer to the fort, and Tommy watched their movements with the keenest interest, ready to scramble out directly he was rescued.

When they were within ten or fifteen yards, Hal and Drusie paused, and the latter, with all the strength of which she was capable, hurled her cannon-balls in quick succession into the fort.

The first was beautifully aimed. It broke on the boy's head, and for a moment choked and blinded him. The second struck Tommy on the head, and caused him to tumble down from his box and lie for a moment sprawling on the floor.

When he got to his feet again and climbed on to his perch, he saw, to his dismay, that things were apparently going very badly for them. The boy, disabled only for a moment by Drusie's ball, had thrown his lasso with his usual sure and deadly aim, and Hal was struggling in its noose.

Drusie and Helen were circling round him, and though their shrill war-whoops echoed through the Wilderness, they were making no effort to help Hal to escape. And as for Jim, he had totally disappeared.

Tommy, however, knew enough of war to be aware that there was some reason for Jim's sudden disappearance; and he presently detected a slight movement among the hawthorn bushes at the back of the fort, and guessed at once that, under cover of the noise that Drusie and Helen were making, Jim was creeping up with the intention of rescuing him. And Hal had probably allowed himself to be taken prisoner on purpose to distract attention from this manoeuvre.

Very gently and gradually, so as not to arouse the suspicions of his captor, Tommy edged his box to the corner nearest the bushes, so that Jim might give him the touch that would bring freedom with as little danger to himself as possible.

Meanwhile, Hal was making a valiant struggle. As Tommy had already guessed, he had allowed himself to be taken prisoner; but, at the same time, he did not wish to be dragged nearer the fort than he could help. And though, to all appearance, he was a prisoner, he held something in his right hand by means of which he hoped to sever his bonds when he chose. He was very nearly as strong as his enemy, and, as he had managed to keep both his arms free, he hauled back the rope with all his might and main. But, in spite of his efforts, he was gradually losing ground, and, quite forgetting how important it was that the enemy should be kept in ignorance of the stratagem that was being carried out in the rear, he shouted to Jim to make haste.

Luckily, however, Drusie kept her wits about her, and drowned the latter half of his sentence by a terrific yell, in which Helen promptly joined. And under cover of the noise they made Jim tore his way through the thicket, and came right up to the very walls of the fort.

"Rescued!" he shouted, tapping Tommy on the arm, and immediately diving back into the bushes.

"Rescued!" Tommy repeated with a glad yell of triumph; and he was over the wall and after Jim like a flash.

But that his hands were full, the boy would have shaken his fist at his escaping prisoner. As it was, he was obliged to content himself with the thought that his new prisoner was more worth having than his old one.

But even as that thought passed through his mind Hal whipped out a knife, and, opening the biggest blade, began to hack away at the rope.

The rope was thick and the knife was blunt, and though Hal sawed away with desperate haste the strands parted with tantalizing slowness; thus, being less able to offer resistance than before, he was hauled rapidly towards the fort. He was barely five yards away from it when the last strand parted, and, with the noose still round his waist, Hal scrambled to his feet. Ducking to avoid a second lasso, which his disappointed foe hurled after him, he set out at full speed for the camp, and then flung himself exhausted upon the ground.

"That was hottish work," he said, glancing round at his little army to see that none were missing, "and we had some tremendously narrow escapes. But the rescue was carried out splendidly. You all did just what you were told, and no more."

Praise from Hal was rare, and the three recipients of it looked exceedingly gratified. And they felt that they deserved the commendation, for Drusie and Helen were perfectly hoarse with shouting, and Jim's face and hands and clothes were torn and scratched by thorns. And Tommy, to his secret delight, got off with a very slight reprimand, for they were all so proud of the clever way in which they had rescued him that they forgave him for having allowed himself to be taken prisoner.

The news that it was their friend, and not Dodds, who was defending the fort was received with satisfaction by Drusie and Jim, but with incredulity by Hal.

"Why, I know it is Dodds," he said. "Though his face is hidden by his helmet, I recognized the suit of clothes that he had on."

"Then, I tell you what it is," Drusie cried. "Our friend and Dodds are the same."

"Well, we will find out all about that presently," said Hal, who was so eager to take the stubborn fort that he did not care very much who held it. "Carried the fort must be, and within the next half-hour."

"Listen," he said, sitting bolt upright; "I have got a rattling good plan in my head, but," throwing a severe glance in Tommy's direction, "there must be no more disobedience, or the whole thing will be spoiled."

Tommy looked properly abashed, and Hal went on. "I mean to hose Dodds out of the fort."

"Hose him out!" Drusie and Jim echoed in astonishment. "What do you mean, Hal?"

"For goodness' sake, take care," Hal remonstrated. "If you shout like that he'll hear, and the whole thing will be spoiled."

Then Hal proceeded to explain in rapid undertones what he meant.

"I am going to bring up the water-barrel, pump it full from the stream, fit the biggest hose to it, and let fly into the fort."

His four soldiers held their breath for a moment, and gazed at their captain with dumb admiration.

"It's a gorgeous plan," said Helen at last.

"I think it ought to answer," Hal said. "I have been thinking it out for some time. I shall go for it, but I will tell you what you have to do while I am away."

For the next quarter of an hour silence reigned in the camp--a silence so unbroken that the enemy who lay waiting in the fort became more watchful with every passing moment. He distrusted such a complete cessation of hostilities. It could only mean that an attack of unusual fierceness was being planned; and so, that it might not find him unprepared, he cast an eye round the fort to see if he could strengthen it in any way.

But it was already as strong as it could be made; and when he was satisfied on that point, he took stock of his ammunition, and made a fresh noose for the lasso which Hal had cut. Just as he had finished a beautiful slip knot, his ear was caught by a low whistle. Ducking to avoid the shot for which it might be the signal, he listened again. No shot followed; the whistle was twice repeated.

Standing upright again, the boy glanced hastily round. He fancied that the whistle came from the direction of the stream. He was still wondering what it meant, when another whistle, another, and yet another, and all from different directions, echoed round the fort. Each, like the first, was repeated twice, but yet nothing happened.

He strained his eyes this way and that, and then suddenly fitted a couple of bullets into his catapult, and fired into some bushes on the left. A sharp but quickly-suppressed squeal of pain was the result. Again and again he fired, but only to be met by a heroic silence. Either his shots missed or his victim refused to cry out.

Suddenly Hal's voice rang out.

"One!" he shouted.

There was a pause.

"Good," thought the boy. "At three the fun begins. Kind of them to give me warning."

Confident that he would have a few moments' breathing space, his watchful vigilance relaxed. Instead of keeping a sharp lookout, he ran his eye once more over his defences, and was considering whether it would be better to use the shorter or the longer lasso, when Hal's voice made itself heard again.

"Two!" he shouted with the full force of his lungs, and simultaneously a wild war-whoop went up from his army. There was the sound of breaking branches, and from different quarters of the wood four of the besiegers broke into the open and advanced at the double.

This movement was the outcome of a deeply-laid plan of Hal's. He knew that if an advance was made at the word "two" the fort would be taken completely by surprise, and under cover of the attack from the front he was, in the meantime, bringing the heavy gun--the water-barrel--into position at the rear.

His surmise proved correct. The holder of the fort was taken at a disadvantage; he fired wildly in consequence, and had the mortification of perceiving that not one of his shots took effect.

The attacking party, of whom Hal was not one, reserved their fire, and seemed bent upon coming to close quarters. Grimly determined to make it warm for them when they did close with him, the defender sprang on to the roof, and, regardless of the fact that he was exposing himself recklessly, took up his stand by the flagstaff, and, throwing down his catapult, whirled his lasso wildly round his head.

On came the attacking party; he faced them, and with a coolness that did him credit at such a critical moment he picked out the one that he could most easily capture, and was in the act of hurling the lasso, when, up from the very midst of the hawthorn bushes at the back of the fort, Hal's voice was heard again.

"Three!" he shouted: and turning like lightning to meet this fresh foe, who he guessed would prove the most formidable, the boy saw an immense jet of water spurt high into the air. Twenty feet it rose, and then descended full and fair upon his head. A mingled shout of defiance and joy told Hal that his aim had been good, and he continued to ply the hose. At the same moment eight cannon-balls, five at least of which hit him, were thrown at the harassed defender, whose helmet was now full of sand and water.

Choking and gasping and almost unable to see, so great was the force with which the stream was playing upon his face, the boy grasped the flag, determined not to surrender.

But the enemy now surrounded the fort on all sides, and were already scaling the walls. Both Jim and Drusie were anxious to gain the glory of capturing the flag, and a desperate fight raged round the flagstaff. Twice Drusie laid hands upon it, and twice she was driven back.

The hose played upon besieged and besiegers alike, and all the combatants were being drenched to the skin. But the battle continued to rage, and, though he was hampered by his helmet and sorely outnumbered, the valour displayed by the holder of the fort might yet have gained him the day, if Jim, warned by a cry from Hal that the water in the barrel was giving out, had not succeeded in grasping the flagstaff.

"Jump with it, Jim, jump!" Drusie cried, and flung herself between them. But with one hand the boy tossed her aside, while with the other he clutched at the flag.

There was a short tug of war; then a sharp sound of tearing cloth; and while the gallant defender toppled backwards into the stream, carrying the greater part of the flag with him, Jim fell down on the other side, bearing with him the flagstaff and the fluttering remnant of the Union Jack.

Both sides would certainly have claimed the victory, for both held a portion of the flag, had not Drusie, scrambling out of the hawthorn bushes into which she had been tossed, jumped into the middle of the stream, and snatched the part that he still held out of the hand of the prostrate, half-drowned enemy.

Then the fort had no choice but to capitulate, and the day was won by the besiegers.

"You all fought jolly well," said the holder of the fort, calmly sitting upright in the middle of the stream and removing his helmet, thereby disclosing to view the face of the boy who had come to Jumbo's rescue. "It has been warm work from first to last. It is quite jolly to sit here and get cool."

Then Hal, jubilant at the success which had attended his manoeuvre, emerged from the hawthorn bushes in which he had been concealed, and congratulated his late enemy on the splendid stand which the fort had made.

"It ought not to have been taken," Dodds said. "But that hose upset me completely; it came as such a tremendous surprise."

"I say," said Jim, who was standing on the bank panting from his exertions, "are you really Dodds?"

"That's my name," said the boy with a polite flourish of his helmet; "and I hear," glancing round at them all with an amused twinkle in his eyes, "that none of you like me."

"Oh, but we didn't know that you were Dodds," Drusie hastened to explain. "It was Dodds we did not like, not you."

"Well, as I am Dodds, you can't like me if you don't like him," the boy said with a laugh, in which they all were obliged to join, as they realized that they had really been liking Dodds all the time without knowing it.

"Well, as I am cool now," Dodds said, getting up and wading to the bank, "I think I'll go and put on some dry things. And I should think that you had better do the same. And then, isn't there a birthday feast to be eaten? I rather think I heard something about it too. You know, I was fishing here one day, and you were all in the fort talking about the fight, and wondering if Hal meant to hold it, and it struck me that it would be rather a good idea if I held it in his place. And so I just did. And jolly good fun it has been too.--Don't you think so, Hal? or do you still think that playing with kids is slow work?"

At that Hal began to grow red, and Drusie, who knew that he was sorry for that and for many other foolish things that he had said, interposed quickly.

"I think we had better go home and change too," she said; "and then we will all meet in the summer-house for the feast."

"Am I asked too?" said Dodds, who was not shy.

"Of course," they all cried.

"Right you are then," said Dodds, shaking himself and squaring his shoulders for a run. "I'll bring some contributions to the feast. Let's see who'll get changed and be there first. I bet you I will."

But as it happened, his five hosts and hostesses were the first to reach the summer-house; and while they waited for their guest Hal took a small baby guinea-pig from his pocket, and gave it to the astonished, delighted Drusie.

"My birthday present to you, Drusie. I got it down at the village this afternoon. Isn't it a beauty?"

"Oh, it's a darling!" Drusie cried, covering both the guinea-pig and Hal with kisses. "How awfully, awfully good of you, Hal! Is it really my very, very own?"

"Yes, rather," said Hal, looking very gratified at her delight. "I went down into the village this afternoon and got it. I paid for it too," he added proudly. "Nurse advanced me the money."

Then Dodds arrived with a basketful of good things for the feast, and a very merry feast it was. And by the time it was finished Drusie and Jim wondered how they could ever have thought that Dodds was not a nice boy.

Hal was not surprised that they should like Dodds, but he was rather astonished to find how much Dodds got to like them. Hal had thought that Dodds would be far too big and grown up to care about playing with girls; but when he found out that Dodds actually enjoyed playing cricket with them, and thought a great deal of Drusie's bowling and Helen's smart fielding, he began to think that he had made a mistake in supposing that he had grown too old for them. So he ceased to speak to them as if he were years and years older than all of them put together, and remembered that he was Drusie's twin-brother, and that he was very fond of her.

THE END.

End of Project Gutenberg's A Tale of the Summer Holidays, by G. Mockler