"Sir!" Coleman raised his rifle and took a hurried shot as a figure loomed out of the dark to their right. "There"s more!"
They came fast and hard, shadowy men with drawn shashkas appearing on both flanks. Jack had a sudden vision of a Cossack slashing downward at Coleman.
"Aye, would you, you bastard!"
Coleman parried the sword stroke with a raised rifle, swore as he was forced back a pace, twisted his weapon and landed a savage blow on the Cossack"s arm with the butt.
Jack saw somebody rise in front of him and fired. The man fell but whether dodging or hit he did not know. Thorpe swore, grunted and fired quickly, with the muzzle flare revealing a brief vignette of hard, moustached faces and the gleaming blades of shashkas.
shashkas"There"s too many of them sir!" Coleman lunged with
