“Hah!” sighed Brace, still using his glass.
Then, after a few minutes—
“They’re turning out,” he said. “Yes; and there is no sign of hurry;” and he kept on telling me as, by the help of the glass, the confusion I could see was cleared; and the leading out of horses, and falling in of men, was described, “They’re going through it all exactly as if they were our troop,” said Brace, bitterly. “We’ve let them see our training, and trained them, too, to some purpose. Hasn’t another quarter of an hour gone yet?”
“No,” I said; “not more than ten minutes.”
“It seems like ten hours. Hah! Trumpeter, keep those horses quiet, on your life.”
There was a neighing and stamping and trampling mingled with the breaking of bushes, and then all was quiet again; while I felt an intense longing to mount my Arab, and gallop as hard as that beautiful creature could go.
“You can see them plainly now?” said Brace.
“Oh yes; quite plainly,” I replied, as I saw the limbers brought out, each by its six horses, and the men drawn up ready, some on foot, the rest mounted, and holding the horses of the dismounted gunners, two of whom, however, would in each case mount to their seats on the limber.
“Where is the rajah?” said Brace, impatiently. “I can’t see him. Can you?”
“No.”