back toward the guardroom.

"Three rifles, and three ammunition pouches gone!" he muttered. "That's
three weapons they've got, in any case. A hornet's nest'd be better
stopping in than this place."

He overtook the men who were carrying in the nail-killed sentry, and
he saw that their faces were drawn and white. So were those of the
other men, who were clustered in the guardroom door.

"What next, Sergeant? Hadn't we better be quick? Why not burn the
place? That'd do instead o' buryin' the dead ones, and it'd give
us a light to get away by. Might serve as a beacon, too. Might
fetch assistance!"

It was evident that panic had set in.

"Fall in!" commanded Brown, and his straight back took on a curve
that meant straightness to the nth power.

"'Tshun! Ri'--dress! Eyes--front!"

He glared at them for just about one minute before
he spoke, and during that minute each man there realized that what
was coming would be quite irrevocable.

"I'm sergeant here. My orders are to hold this post until relieved.
Therefore--and I hope there's no man here holds any other notion;
I hope it for his own sake!--until we are relieved, we're going to
hold it! Moreover, this command is going to be a real command, from