The bullets overhead buzzed, and the ricochets sounded zip, zip; but, as far as we could tell, no one was hit, nor had a man gone down from the false stop of a horse.
Unexpectedly, though, I heard a cry from somewhere behind, then a heavy fall, and another, as a couple of horses went down, and caused some confusion; but to stop to help the unfortunates was impossible at such a time. It was the fortune of war, as we all knew; and we tore on, till a note from the trumpet rose from our left; then another, and the fierce gallop was changed to a trot, and evolution after evolution was executed to bring the retiring regiment into formation of troops. Soon after this was completed a fresh call brought us to a walk, and directly after to a halt to breathe the panting horses.
“Dismount, my lads,” cried the Colonel. This order was to enable the brave beasts to have the full advantage of our halt.
“Hurt?” was asked excitedly on all sides; but every answer was in the negative, and we stood there by our troopers and chargers in the darkness, listening to the wild excitement from the distance.
The firing was still going on, but in a confused, desultory way; and for the moment it seemed as if we had made good our escape, and had nothing to do but mount and ride quietly away. That was how it struck me, and I said so to Denham.
“Oh no,” he said anxiously. “Didn’t you see?”
“See what?” I asked.
“Why, we were riding straight on into another body of the enemy after we had cut through the first.”
“No,” I said. “Who could see through this darkness?”
“Well, I didn’t at first; but when the Colonel dashed up with the trumpeter and turned us off to the left, I looked out for the reason, and there it was: a long line of the brutes, blazing away in our direction. You must have heard the bullets.”