Between Snow and Fire — page 126: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ar ‘a :- _-_ =a =a , = | + " 2 += ga ee yw ——S a ae le ow ih | "TWEEN SNOW AND FIRE, — * lee ‘ ‘ ' _ « |= ee) - —As Picined, the savages made sich wild shooting that their missiles flew high overhead. Now and then, however, a shot would take effect. One man received a bullet in the shoulder, another had his bridle hand shattered. Several of the horses were badly wounded, but, as yet, there were no fatalities. The enemy, confident in the strength of his overwhelming numbers, waxed bolder—crowding in closer and closer. Every bush was alive with Kafir warriors, who kept starting up when and where least expected in a man- ner that would have been highly disconcerting to any but. cool and determined men. But this is just what these were. All hope of saving the spoil had been abandoned. The frontiersmen, dismounted now, were gghting the savages in their own way, from bush to bush. ‘This is getting rather too hot,” muttered Shelton, with an ominous shake of the head. ‘ We shall be hemmed in directly. Our best chance would be for someone to break through and ride to the camp for help.” Yet he hesitated to despatch anyone upon so dangerous a service. Just then several assegais came whizzing in among them. Two horses were transfixed, and Hoste received a slight wound in the leg. “ D—n !” he cried furiously, stamping with pain, whilea roar of laughter went up from his fellows, “‘ Let me catch a squint at John Kafir’s sooty mug! Ah!” His piece flew to his shoulder—then it cracked. He had just glimpsed a woolly head, decked with a strip of jackal’s skin, peering from behind a bush not twenty yards away, and whose owner, doubtless, attracted by the laughter of those devil-may-care whites, had put it forward to see what the fun was about. A kicking, struggling sound, mingled with stifled groans, seemed to show that the shot had been effective. “Downed him! Hooray!” yelled Hoste, still squirming underthe smart of the assegai prick in hiscalf. ‘“ Charge of Joepers that time—must haveknocked daylight through him !” Taking advantage of this diversion, a tall, gaunt Kafir, rising noiselessly amid a mass of tangled creepers, was deliberately aiming at somebody. So silent had been his movements, so occupied were the other whites, that he was entirely unperceived. His eye went down to the breech. He seemed to require a long and careful aim. GEomileboo