The Afridis gathered thickly round the door, tried to push it in with their heavy knives, and battered it with the butt ends of their rifles.

Gradually, in spite of the fire of the defenders, they splintered it; but the barricade behind still held and, from this, the besieged poured through the broken door so galling a fire--one half emptying their magazines, and then falling back to reload while the others took their places--till at last, after suffering a loss of some thirty men, the enemy retired again, and were soon hidden in the darkness.

As soon as they had gone, the garrison brought down all available material from the upper floor to strengthen the barricade.
"I don't think they will try again, lads," Lisle said.
The numbers of the besieged were, unfortunately, dwindling.

One had been shot through the head, two others had been wounded, and Lisle himself had received a bullet in his shoulder.

There were now but two unwounded men; but the other four were all capable of using their rifles, at a pinch.