who might, by making an effort, be as bright and as comfortable as they
are. There are, as you will find, many brilliant examples of female
heroism and self-devotion exhibited here; but in some instances women seem
to try how helpless, how foolish a silly woman can be. Ah," he broke off,
as a terrific crash followed by a loud scream was heard, "I fear that
shell has done mischief."

"Mrs. Shelton is killed," a woman said, running out, "and Lucy Shelton has
had her arm cut off. Where is Dr. Topham?"

Mrs. Hargreaves came out of her door with a basin of water and some linen
torn into strips for bandages just as the doctor ran in from the Sikh
Square, where he had been attending to several casualties.

"That is right," he nodded to Mrs. Hargreaves; "this is a bad business, I
fear."

"All hands to repair defenses!" was now the order, and the boys followed
Mr. Johnson outside.

"The scoundrels are busy this evening," he observed.

"It sounds like a boiler-maker's shop," Dick said; "if only one in a
hundred bullets were to hit, there would not be many alive by to-morrow
morning."

"No, indeed," Mr. Johnson replied; "they are of course firing to some
extent at random, but they aim at the points where they think it likely
that we may be at work, and their fire adds greatly to our difficulty in
setting right at night the damage they do in the daytime."