“What! for that, sir?” said the man, staring; “it’s only a scratch from a bit of stone.”
The injury was very slight; but during Roy’s absence the enemy had managed to send one shot so truly that it had struck the front corner of the embrasure of the corporal’s gun, and splintered away a great piece of the stone, many fragments still lying about on the platform.
“Yes, sir; they’re shooting better than we are, or their guns are more true. Our powder’s good, old as it is; but it doesn’t matter how carefully we aim, we can never tell to a foot or two where the shot will hit. They won’t go where we want ’em.”
“Well, theirs will not either, Ben,” said Roy, “or they would have done more mischief to us than this.”
“That’s true, sir,” grumbled the old soldier; “and after all said and done, I don’t think much of big guns. If you could get ’em close up to the end of a ridgement, and the men would stand still, you could bowl a lot of ’em over like skittles; but there’s a lot of waste going on with this sort of firing, and if it warn’t for the show we make, and which keeps ’em off, we might as well sit down and smoke our pipes, and watch where the balls went that they send.”
“But you must keep on, Ben. You may have a lucky shot yet.”
“Oh, we aren’t done so very badly since you went, sir! Soon as they’d done that bit o’ damage to the top there, as’ll cost Sir Granby a lot o’ money to repair, the corporal sent ’em an answer which made ’em carry away four men to the rear.”
“Killed?” said Roy, excitedly.
“Ah! that’s more than we can say, sir. They didn’t send us word. He’s got the best gun, you see, sir; and I don’t take so well to this sort of work. I want a good horse between my knees, and your father ahead of me to lead. Why, if he was here with his ridgement, he’d take us along like a big brush, and sweep this mob o’ rebels off the country, as clean as one of the maids would do it with a broom. I say, sir; try your luck. The men like to see you have a shot or two. You boys are so lucky.”
Roy tried and tried again as the day wore on, and the duel between tower and battery went on, but tried in vain. The men were relieved, and the fresh relay kept up a steady fire, shot for shot with the enemy; but nothing was done beyond knocking the earth up in all directions; while as fast as the face of the battery was injured, they could see spades and baskets at work, and the earth was replaced by more. A demonstration was made by the enemy on the sides of the castle, as if to try what was to be expected there; but a shot or two from the corner towers forced the horsemen to retire; and night was approaching fast when Ben and the corporal relieved the men who had been firing all the afternoon, and Roy was with them just as the old soldier took aim for his first shot.