“Disregarding the bugle call, we of the infantry kept on, when a rider came tearing up, calling upon us to halt.
“‘What for?’ I cried.
“‘General Scott’s orders.’
“‘We shall rue this halt,’ was my rejoinder. ‘The city is at our mercy; we can take it now, and should.’
“Lieutenant-Colonel Baxter, then in command of the New York Volunteers, called out:
“‘For God’s sake, Mayne Reid, obey orders, and halt the men.’
“At this appeal I faced round to my followers, and shouted ‘Halt!’
“The soldiers came up abreast of me, and one big North Irishman cried:
“‘Do you say halt?’
“I set my sword towards them, and again shouted ‘Halt!’ This time I was obeyed, the soldiers crying out: