"We cannot surrender without a struggle."
"Who can tell but we may defeat them?"
Allen, pleased with the speeches of his comrades, gave the order to charge the enemy.
The fight was a sharp one.
Hand-to-hand struggles always partake more of the brutish, and the truth about such encounters is far more horrible than any description.
Allen was in the thickest of the fight all the time; his sword was dripping with blood every time he raised it above his head, and that was just as frequently as he could free his arm from the crush to wield his weapon.
Only a few minutes did the struggle last, but the carnage was out of all proportion to the number engaged.
Seven of Allen's men were killed, while the enemy lost twelve, and what seemed remarkable, all who fell were dead. No one seemed to be wounded or maimed; death came to all who were stricken.
The return journey was a sad one, though from the point of view of a soldier it was glorious.
Montgomery congratulated the mountaineer on his bravery, and told him that his record should be known at headquarters.