"Take as long a hold of your pikes as you can, and when I give the order, let your points be all together like one.

Ready?
Forward!" As the little party advanced, with their pike-heads almost touching, while those of their enemies were advanced to defend the opening, the two men on either side darted close up, shielded by the wall, passed their arms over with a quick motion, and each grasped and held fast one or two pike-shafts, in spite of the efforts of their holders to get them free.
But there were enough left to defend the hole, and one by one, in spite of the desperate efforts made to hold them, the imprisoned weapons were at last dragged away, to reappear, stabbing furiously, till, breathless with their exertions, the men once more drew back, several of the Edens in their rage snatching their small mining-picks from their belts, one hurling his into the hole, a wild yell telling that it had done its work.
"Well," said Mark despondently, "what can we do ?" "Wait and see if they will come out and attack us.

We are wasting strength." "Yes.

It's no good.

We ought to have brought a lot of blasting-powder, Dan, and blown them out." "Yes, Master Mark; but we didn't know.