In
half a minute they rushed up almost together.
"Throw yourselves down," Chris shouted; "we shall have it directly."
Twenty seconds later there was a tremendous roar and a blinding crash,
and they felt the ground shake. Almost simultaneously came eight others,
then in quick succession followed six other reports, and mingled with
these a confused roar of innumerable shots blended together. There was a
momentary pause, and then a deafening clatter as rifles, fragments of
iron and wood came falling down over a wide area. Several fell close to
where the lads were crouched against the rock, but none touched them.
For a full half-minute the fragments continued to fall, then the boys
stood up and looked round. It was too dark to see more than that the
yard was a chaos; the long lines of waggons, the huts and buildings, had
all disappeared; loud shouts could be heard from the other side of the
bridge, but nearer to them everything was silent. There was no doubt
that the success of the attempt was complete, and the lads walked back
quietly until they were at the spot where the horses had been placed,
Jack overtaking them just as they reached it.
"It was terrible, baas," he said in an awed voice. "Jack thought his
life was gone.
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