on with the two who came off this morning, at midnight. Besides their
sentry work, of course every one is in Readiness to man the walls at any
moment in case of alarm, and a good deal of your time can be spent at
loopholes, picking off the enemy directly they show themselves. One of the
party, in turn, cooks each day. Besides the fighting duty, there is any
amount of fatigue work, the repairing and strengthening of the defenses,
the fetching rations and drawing water for the house, in which there are
over fifty women and children, the burying dead cattle, and covering blood
and filth with earth. Besides defending our own post, we are, of course,
ready to rush at any moment to assist any other garrison which may be
pressed. Altogether, you will think yourself lucky when you can get four
hours' sleep out of the twenty-four."

"Are our losses heavy?" Ned asked.

"Terribly heavy. The first week we lost twenty a day shot in the houses;
but now that we have, as far as possible, blocked every loophole at which
a bullet can enter, we are not losing so many as at first, but the daily
total is still heavy, and on a day like the 20th we lost thirty. The enemy
attacked us all round, and we mowed them down with grape; we believe we
killed over a thousand of them. Unfortunately, every day our losses are
getting heavier from disease, foul air, and overcrowding; the women and
children suffer awfully. If you are disposed to make yourselves useful
when not on duty, you will find abundant opportunity for kindness among
them. I will take you round the house and introduce you to the ladies,
then you can go among them as you like."

First the Warreners went to what, in happier times, was the main room of
the house, a spacious apartment some thirty-five feet square, with windows
opening to the ground at each end, to allow a free passage of air. These,