“See what this damned Sheldon has done for us now!  God!  What disgrace is ours!”

I saw Colonel Sheldon presently, pale as death, and heard him exclaim: 

“Oh, Christ!  I shall be broke for this!  I shall be broke!”

I made out to say to Boyd: 

“The enemy are coming in hundreds, sir, and we have scarce four score men mounted by the Meeting House.”

“They’ll never stand, either,” he panted.  “But if they do we’ll see this matter to an end.”

“Our orders?” I asked.

“Damn our orders,” said he.  “We’ll see this matter to an end.”

We rode hard, but already some of Tallmadge’s terror-stricken patrol were overhauling us, and the clangor of the British cavalry broke louder and louder on our ears as we came in sight of the Meeting House.  Sheldon’s four score troopers heard the uproar of the coming storm, wavered, broke, and whirled their horses about into a most disorderly flight along the Stamford road.  Everybody ran—­ there was no other choice for officers and men—­ and close on our heels came pelting the 17th British Dragoons, the Hussars, and Mounted Yagers of the Legion; and behind these galloped their mounted infantry.

A mad anxiety to get away from this terrible and overwhelming force thundering on our heels under full charge possessed us all, I think, and this paramount necessity held shame and fury in abeyance.  There was nothing on earth for us to do but to ride and try to keep our horses from falling headlong on the rocky, slippery road; for it was now a very hell of trampling horsemen, riding frantically knee against knee, buffeted, driven, crowded, crushed, slipping; and trooper after trooper went down with a crash under the terrible hoofs, horse and rider battered instantly into eternity.

For full three-quarters of a mile they ran us full speed, and we drove on headlong; then at the junction of the New Canaan road our horsemen separated, and I found myself riding in the rear beside Boyd and Jack Mount once more.  Turning to look back, I perceived the Legion Cavalry were slowing to a trot to rest their hard-blown horses; and gradually our men did the same.  But the Hussars continued to come on, and we continued our retreat, matching our speed to theirs.

They let drive at us once with their heavy pistols, and we in the rear returned their fire, emptying one saddle and knocking two horses into the roadside bushes.

Then they ran us hard again, and strove to flank us, but the rocky country was too stiff for their riders, and they could not make out to cut us off or attain our flanks.

“What a disgrace!  What a disgrace!” was all Boyd found to say; and I knew he meant the shameful surprise, not the retreat of our eighty light horsemen before the thundering charge of their heavy hundreds.

Our troopers did not seem really frightened; they now jogged along doggedly, but coolly enough.  We had with us on the New Canaan road some twenty light dragoons, not including Boyd, myself, and Jack Mount—­ one captain, one cornet and a trumpeter lad, the remainder being rank and file, and several mounted militiamen.