But they all ran out of bullets at the same time. As they fumbled with their ammunition clips and tried to reload in the dark, the Mau Mau had time to dash forward and suddenly the window above the sink was filled with the shadowy forms of three panga-wielding rebels. The two totos lashed out with their rifle butts, but they were being forced backwards as the Mau Mau clambered over the sacks. Mpishi and Mashraf raised their rifles to shoot, but the fighting by the window was at such close quarters that they dared not fire for fear of hitting one of their own men by mistake.

Tabitha pulled at the sleeve of the young housemaid squatting beside her.

‘Come!’

She ran across to the kitchen range, followed by the girl. A large, two-handled steel pot was bubbling and steaming on top of one of the hobs. Tabitha grabbed one of the handles, then turned the pot so that the girl could take the other. They ran together across the kitchen towards the sinks.

When they were by the totos, Tabitha yelled, ‘Get down!’

The two men were used to obeying the formidable housekeeper. They dropped like stones.

Tabitha shouted, ‘Heave!’

She and the maid threw the pot upwards towards the Mau Mau.

The men on the sinks were hit by blasts of scalding hot steel and boiling water. They howled in pain and staggered backwards, tripping and falling out of the room as the totos helped them on their way with lusty blows of their rifle butts.

The men inside the kitchen roared with delight at Tabitha’s swift thinking.

‘Enough!’ Mpishi roared, cutting the celebrations dead. ‘Find your spare magazines. Load your weapons. They will be back and we must be ready for them.’

Leon used nearly half the ammunition in the Sten’s magazine and Dorian fired even more, but they did the job. The tyres were blown. The truck stopped inches from the side of the house. The dozen or so surviving Mau Mau, who had not bothered to get in the back but were clinging onto the sides of the vehicle, jumped down and ran towards the open doors and the wooden barricade.

The ones with Stens were firing as they came, shooting from the hip, not caring what they hit but forcing Leon, Dorian and Sophie to keep their heads down.

Dorian was on the floor, hoping to repeat his trick with the shotgun, but the Mau Mau had learned fast. They were coming in from either side of the truck, avoiding his line of fire. He twisted round to the right and left but couldn’t get a decent shot.

By the time Dorian extracted himself, the enemy were on them. He heard Sophie scream, turned and saw a Mau Mau coming at her.

The Kikuyu fighter was almost a foot taller than Sophie, more heavily built, and had thrown away his gun in favour of a long, sharp panga.