“General du Portail has reported the battery completed, and he tells me we’ve beat the French by at least two hours.”

A wild yell of joy broke from one of the apparently unconscious men, bringing most of the sleepers scrambling to their feet and grasping for their weapons.  “I said they could never dig in them clothes!” he cried.

“’T is however to be another ’Gentlemen of the guards, fire first,’” went on Brereton.  “General Washington, as a compliment to the French, has decided that their guns shall fire the first shot.”

A growl came from the captain of the nearest cannon.  “I promised the old gal,” he muttered discontentedly, his hand on his thirty-two pounder, “that she should begin it, an’ she’s sighted to knock over that twelve pounder that ’s been teasin’ us, or may I never fire gun agin.”

“She’ll do it just as well on the second shot,” said Colonel Lamb, “and who cares which fires first, since we’ve beat them.”

It was three o’clock when Washington and Rochambeau, accompanied by their staffs, came out of the covert-way which permitted entrance and egress to a French redoubt, from the trenches in its rear, and infantry and gunners came to the “present.”

“Votre Excellence,” said Colonel d’Aboville, saluting, “moi cannoniers vous implorent de leur donner l’honneur immortel en mettant feu au premier coup de cannon.”

Washington, realizing that the speech was addressed to him, turned to Rochambeau with a helpless and questioning look.

“Zay desire zat your Excellency does zem ze honneur to fire ze first gun,” explained the French general.

Washington removed his hat and bowed.  “Try as we will, count,” he said, “we cannot equal your nation in politeness.”  In silence he stepped forward to the gun the colonel indicated, and the captain of the piece handed him the loggerhead with a salute and then fell back respectfully.

Washington touched the red-hot iron to the port fire; there was a puff of smoke, a deafening crash; and the great gun gave a little jump, as if for joy.  A thousand pairs of eyes strained after the solid shot as it flew, then as it disappeared over the British earthworks and was heard to go tearing its way through some wall a great shout went up from one end of the lines of the allies, to the other.

Instantly came the roar of the other five cannon, and two ten-inch mortars echoed their thunder by sending ten-inch shells curving high in the air.  Ere they descended one of the guns peeping from a British redoubt rose on end and disappeared; raising another cheer.  At last the siege was begun.

As if to prove that the foe was nothing daunted, a solid shot, just topping the redoubt, tore through the middle of the group of generals, scattering sand and pebbles over them.  Colonel Cobb, who stood nearest Washington, turning impulsively, said, “Sir, you are too much exposed here.  Had you not better step back a little?”