I don't
wonder the men are impatient. We bargained for fighting, but I never
reckoned on standing for hours to be shot at without even a chance to
reply."
It was just after this that the French cavalry burst upon the squares;
but this cheered rather than depressed the spirits of the men. For a
time they were free from the artillery fire, and now had a chance of
active work. Thus as the fire flashed from the faces of the square the
men laughed and joked, and it was with regret that they saw the
cuirassiers fall back before the charge of Lord Uxbridge's cavalry,
for they knew that the moment this screen was removed the French
artillery would open again.
Ralph's chief sensation was that of wonder that he was alive; so
overwhelming was the din, so incessant the rain of shot, it seemed to
him a marvel how any one could remain alive within its range.
Almost mechanically he repeated the orders, "Close up, close up!" as
the square dwindled and dwindled. He longed as impatiently as the men
for the advance, and would have gladly charged against impossible odds
rather than remain immovable under fire. When the order at length came
he did not hear it. Just after the storm of fire that heralded the
advance of the guards broke out, a round shot struck him high up on
the left arm. He was conscious only of a dull, numbing sensation, and
after that knew no more of what was taking place.
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