By this time Gilbert’s fighting blood was thoroughly aroused and with dreams of victories won in Cuba, Luzon, and in China, he rushed forward, sword in one hand and pistol in the other. Scarcely had he covered a distance of fifty yards when he found himself in the midst of the battle, with several Russians directly in front of him.
It was a moment of peril and nobody could have realized it better than did the young American captain. He discharged his pistol point-blank at one of the Russians and saw the fellow go down with a wound in his side. Then a gun was discharged close to his ear, the bullet fairly clipping his hair. He turned and with his sword made a lunge at the shooter, giving him a slight wound in the shoulder. As he did so one of his own men leaped to the front and shot the Russian through the throat killing him instantly.
The battle was now a hot one on all sides. But the Russians knew they could not hold their ground, and they began slowly to retreat over the top of a hill, where, some days before they had had a battery planted. But orders had come to take the battery to the north side of the Yalu, and this order had been obeyed. There was some confusion, and in one instance twenty Russians were surrounded and taken prisoners. On the other hand six Japanese were killed and ten badly wounded.
Near the end of the engagement Gilbert found himself at the edge of a small brook which, some miles away, flowed into the Yalu. Ben’s command was not far away, and both young Americans were fighting almost side by side. It was growing dark, so the enemy could be seen only with difficulty.
“Wonder how long this is going to last?” Gilbert asked himself. “We shall have to call it off pretty soon.”
These thoughts had just crossed his mind, when without previous warning, three Russian soldiers came at him in a bunch.
“There is the American!” shouted one, in his native tongue. “Down with him! Such as he has no right to fight with the Japanese!”
A shot was fired, and Gilbert felt himself struck lightly in the left arm. Another shot whistled past his face. He tried to dodge to one side, but hitting a rock, stumbled and fell. Then a Russian lieutenant saw his plight and leaped forward, sword in hand, to run him through and through.
CHAPTER XXI
THE BATTLE OF THE YALU
For the instant after he went down, Gilbert was too bewildered to do anything to save himself. The Russian lieutenant was so close the young American had no chance to dodge or roll out of the way.