The men stood up cheering like madmen; but firing started again from the bushes, bullets came whistling over, and they were ordered to take cover.
Saunderson ran back to his breast-work with his men.
"That was a pretty close shave, sir," said Williams, coming up and painfully reloading his revolver with his wounded hand.
"A very close thing indeed," replied Cummins with a chuckle, as he reloaded his.
Pattison lay on the ground without moving, blood pouring from his head; one man was dead, lying half over the sand-bags with a bullet through his chest; one had a bayonet wound in his thigh, and was sitting up trying to stanch the flow of blood; another sat stupid and half stunned with a blow on the head from the butt-end of a rifle.
"Sing out for Dr. Richardson," said Cummins, bending over Pattison.
"Here I am, sir," the Doctor answered, coming up with an axe in one hand and an empty revolver in the other.
"I did not think it was the time to stand on professional etiquette, sir."
"My word!" Williams burst out, "I saw that axe flying round, and, man alive! you saved a beggar from running me through."
A cheer from Sergeant Haig's breast-work made them turn round, and they saw the head of the Strong Arm's party just appearing over the shoulder of the hill, beyond the gun.