"Two!" exclaimed the doctor.
The rifles were levelled, and eager eyes glanced along the tubes.
"Three!"
For a second after the word was spoken the doctor held the white handkerchief aloft; but as it slowly fell towards the ground, there was but one report, so closely did they fire together.
I had not taken my eyes from Fred, and to my joy I saw that he did not move. I glanced towards Wattles. He had dropped his rifle and was rubbing his right arm, which hung down powerless by his side.
"By the mass," cried the doctor, grabbing his box of instruments and running towards his brother officer, "the Americans have got the best of this fight, as I knew they would with their d——d rifles. But, by Saint Patrick, it was illegantly done, and that I'll stick to as long as I live."