A loud shout on the left proclaimed that something of importance was happening there, and then it was I beheld Count Beula.
The Croats were yelling with savage joy. Out of a dozen ladders not one remained upright, and the remnant of the assailants was in retreat, with the exception of the count.
I always disliked the man, and indeed to this day I hate him, yet I must admit that here at Buda and elsewhere he proved himself a first-class fighting man.
He stood now alone, save for the dead and wounded; but though the bullets fell around him fast, he never budged an inch.
The distance was too great for me to see his face clearly, but I felt quite sure his lips were curled in a sarcastic sneer.
Enemy of mine though he was, I cheered with the rest when, as if tired of waiting for the runaways to come back, he coolly advanced alone.
What occurred next, or who induced the battalion to return, I cannot say, as the colonel immediately gave the signal for the assault.
The men responded with a cheer. They burned to be on the walls, where they could meet the defenders on more equal terms, and the regiment bounded forward like one man.
Now, too, I missed Stephen, for the fighting became so fierce and confused that it was impossible to see anything beyond what took place close at hand.
The fire from the great guns continued steadily; but it was less violent, and we afterwards learned that three of the pieces had blown up.