Presently Linham went off back to his tent, and one or two of the men round the fire dozed off.
Brandon—who half-sat, half-lay on the ground beside Jack—fell into a fitful slumber, but presently started in his sleep and muttered, ‘Skull and cross-bones—good badge—nothing to live for—I will go’—— He turned uneasily; then added, ‘All skeletons’—— when the voice of Barrymore, bidding the next relief mount, roused him up.
The men departed, and the relieved men came in reporting all quiet. The night passed, the rain leaving off and the moon coming out. Presently the cold, gray dawn broke, and Jack was just off to try and find some more wood for the fire when, looking up, he chanced to glance across to the height on his right, known as Canrobert’s Hill. Instantly he noticed that instead of one there were two flags flying.
‘Hallo, sergeant, I wonder what that means?’ he asked of Barrymore.
‘Danger, Jack; look at the vedettes.’ And Jack, looking, saw that they were ‘circling right and left at a trot,’ thus signalling the advance of both cavalry and infantry, and at a quick pace.
‘Sound the alarm,’ said Barry more to Jack; and the men sprang to their horses.
‘Look over towards the second redoubt!’ cried Pearson; ‘there’s some of the staff, I can see the cocked hats.’
‘If there’s going to be a scrimmage we must be in it,’ said Barry more joyfully; ‘we’ve heard enough about being do-nothings. If we get a chance to-day we’ll show ’em.’
‘I hope to goodness we do!’ cried half-a-dozen grimly eager voices behind him.
Just then the boom of a twelve-pounder gun in the redoubt before them rang out. It was the warning note, announcing, though no one knew it then, that the day of the cavalry had arrived. It was the morn of Balaclava!