the impatience of their men, “Our turn will come presently, lads.”  “Yes, but who will be alive when it does come?” a query which was very hard to answer, as hour by hour the ranks melted away.  Although they kept a cheerful countenance and spoke hopefully to the men, it seemed to the officers themselves that the prospect was well-nigh hopeless.  Picton’s brigade mustered scarce half their strength when the battle began.  They were to have fought in the second line this day; but the defection of their allies in front of them had placed them in the front, and upon them and upon the defenders of Hougoumont the brunt of the battle had fallen, and as the squares grew smaller and smaller it seemed even to the officers that the end must come before long.

“This cannot last,” Captain O’Connor said to Ralph when the day was but half over.  “They will never beat us, but by the time they get here there will be nobody left to beat.  I don’t think we are more than two hundred strong now, and every minute the force is diminishing.  I don’t wonder the men are impatient.  We bargained for fighting, but I never reckoned on standing for hours to be shot at without even a chance to reply.”

It was just after this that the French cavalry burst upon the squares; but this cheered rather than depressed the spirits of the men.  For a time they were free from the artillery fire, and now had a chance of active work.  Thus as the fire flashed from the faces of the square the men laughed and joked, and it was with regret that they saw the cuirassiers fall back before the charge of Lord Uxbridge’s cavalry, for they knew that the moment this screen was removed the French artillery would open again.

Ralph’s chief sensation was that of wonder that he was alive; so overwhelming was the din, so incessant the rain of shot, it seemed to him a marvel how any one could remain alive within its range.

Almost mechanically he repeated the orders, “Close up, close up!” as the square dwindled and dwindled.  He longed as impatiently as the men for the advance, and would have gladly charged against impossible odds rather than remain immovable under fire.  When the order at length came he did not hear it.  Just after the storm of fire that heralded the advance of the guards broke out, a round shot struck him high up on the left arm.  He was conscious only of a dull, numbing sensation, and after that knew no more of what was taking place.

It was pitch dark before he became conscious.  Fires were burning at various points along the ridge; for when the victory was complete the British retired to the position they had held so long, and the Prussian cavalry took up the pursuit.  Fires had been lighted with broken gun carriages and shattered artillery wagons, and parties with torches were collecting the wounded.  Ralph found that his head was being supported, and that a hand was pouring spirits and water down his throat.  The hand was a shaky one, and its owner was crying loudly.  As he opened his eyes the man broke into a torrent of thankful exclamations.