THE BOYS GO INTO BATTLE.
Sitting their horses quietly, their lives endangered every moment by shot
and shell that dropped around them and whistled by their heads, Hal and
Chester watched keenly the hand-to-hand struggle that ensued.
The two bodies of horsemen met with a crash less than a quarter of a
mile from where the two lads had taken their places. With swords and
sabers flashing aloft, the Austrians had charged with a wild yell. The
Italian cavalry, stationary and braced for the shock, received their
foes silently.
Hal and Chester could see that the opposing bodies of horse were about
evenly matched; and they realized that skill, horsemanship and fighting
prowess would play important parts in the encounter.
The very fierceness of the Austrian charge swept away the front rank of
the Italian cavalry; and, over the fallen bodies of men and horses the
foe pressed on, taking no count of their own dead and injured that reeled
and fell from the saddles. The horses themselves became imbued with the
spirit of battle, and bit and struck at each other as their riders fought
with sword, saber and pistol.
It was a terrible sight, and the lads shuddered unconsciously. It was
more frightful to the spectator than it was to the struggling men
themselves, who, in the heat of battle, took no thought of the dead and
the dying and pressed forward bent only upon protecting themselves while
they sought the lives of their foes.
For an hour the fierce hand-to-hand struggle raged, with advantage
apparently first to one side and then to the other. In other sections of
the field, at least where Hal and Chester could see, operations had
ceased for the moment, each commander evidently loath to hurl forward
additional troops until the cavalry action had been decided. However, the
troops were engaged in other quarters of the field. Upon the right the
Italians had made no impression on the Austrian, but the Italian left
wing had had better success. The first line of trenches of the enemy had
fallen to the attacking forces after a fierce bayonet charge by the
infantry, and the left wing had now taken shelter in the trenches and was
preparing to beat off a counter attack which the Austrian commander even
now was about to make.
And in the center the cavalry still fought sullenly and fiercely.
Suddenly Hal uttered an exclamation of dismay.
From a quarter of a mile to the left of the struggling cavalry, a second
body of Austrian horsemen appeared. These men had been ordered to make a
detour and fall upon the Italian horse from the left. They now charged
with a shout.
Apparently this had taken the Italian commander by surprise, for no
additional Italian troops were for the moment hurled forward to the
support of the cavalry. Beset by this new foe, the Italians were forced
back slowly, fighting every minute, however, and contesting every foot of
ground as they retreated.
Hal and Chester now realized for the first time that they were directly
in the line of retreat.
"We'd better move, Hal," said Chester, "or we shall have to fight whether
we want to or not."
Hal signified his assent with a nod of his head, and they turned their
horses' heads to ride out of harm's way.
But they had delayed too long.
From behind them came a loud, terrible, blood-curdling shout, and gazing
quickly about, the lads saw that they were directly in the road of large
cavalry reinforcements that were being rushed forward to the support of
the hard-pressed men in front.
"Quick, Chester!" cried Hal, and put spurs to his horse.
But it was too late.
The Italian cavalry was upon them, and rather than be thrown down and
trampled, the lads were forced to turn their horses in with the troop;
and thus they were carried along like a whirlwind in the very front rank
of the charge, and Hal, glancing to his left, felt a sudden sense of
satisfaction as he saw that the man who led this desperate charge was
none other than Colonel Harry Anderson, his old companion in arms, the
man by whose side both he and Chester had faced death more than once.
Hal's hand dropped to his belt, and his revolver came forth in his left
hand. The reins he allowed to fall loose upon his horse's neck, while
with his right hand he drew his sword. Chester, with the light of battle
in his eyes, was already prepared.
The horses of the two boys darted forward with the rest of the troop,
their ears standing straight up, their manes bristling, their
nostrils extended.
Now the troop came close upon the cavalry already engaged; and these men,
despite their seeming confusion, parted as though by a prearranged plan,
and the reinforcements passed through, and fell upon the enemy with an
impact that was not to be denied. Behind, the first troop reformed and
now came forward in support.
And once more Hal and Chester found themselves in the midst of battle.
Just before the impact, and as Colonel Anderson brandished his sword
aloft and urged his men on with a shouted command, Hal discharged his
revolver at a tall Austrian who had taken deliberate aim at Colonel
Anderson. The man threw up his hands and with a wild yell toppled beneath
the feet of the plunging horses, there to be trampled to death if Hal's
bullet had not been enough.
One volley was poured into the Austrians at a command from Colonel
Anderson, and then the Italians were upon the foe with drawn sabers. A
single volley from the Austrians proved ineffective; Hal and Chester and
the commander of the troop were unscathed and the Austrians had no time
for another.
Chester parried a blow aimed at him by an Austrian cavalryman, and
raising his pistol quickly, toppled him from his horse with a bullet. A
second ploughed its way through the chest of another trooper and with his
sword the lad caught a blow that at that moment would have descended upon
Hal's head.
And so the fighting went, cut, thrust, parry and strike, with an
occasional revolver shot in between; and Hal, Chester, and Colonel
Anderson, in some miraculous manner, escaping injury.
The Austrians fought bravely, giving blow for blow, and in the center
succeeded in breaking through. It was but a mere handful of men who
succeeded in this venture, however, and they were immediately cut off
from their friends. A demand to surrender went unheeded; and a moment
later they had gone down.
A bugle sounded in the Austrian rear. The enemy drew off. It was first
blood to the Italians and the troops raised a loud cheer as they dashed
forward in pursuit of the foe, who now turned their horses about
sharply and fled.
For a hundred yards the Italians pursued, doing great execution with
their heavy cavalry swords; and then Colonel Anderson called a halt, for
he feared he might be rushing into a trap.
When two hundred yards separated the opposing forces, the Austrian
artillery suddenly broke loose again. A shell struck squarely in the
center of the Italian horsemen, doing frightful execution. Colonel
Anderson hurriedly gave the order to fall back.
The colonel turned to Hal and Chester.
"What are you two doing here?" he demanded. "I thought you told me your
fighting days were over?"
"We thought so, too," replied Hal, with a smile, "but you fellows
swooped down on us so suddenly that we didn't have a chance to get out
of the way."
"And it seemed pretty good," said Chester, "just like old times."
"You both gave good accounts of yourselves," declared the colonel. "I'll
have a word to say about you in my report."
"No use of--" began Chester and broke off with an ejaculation: "Hello!"
"What's up?" demanded Anderson.
For answer, Chester pointed to the left and slightly ahead. There,
overlooked in some way, a small body of Italian troops was engaged
silently with a larger number of Austrians and the Italians were getting
the worst of the encounter.
Colonel Anderson made his decision in a moment, and in spite of the
Austrian artillery shells that were flying overhead and dropping on all
sides, the cavalry rushed to the aid of their countrymen.
But the Austrians didn't wait to receive this new attack. They turned and
took to their heels; and as they hastened away, Hal caught the sound of a
voice coming from their midst:
"Hal! Chester!" it came. "Help!"
"By George! it's Uncle John!" exclaimed Chester, and urged his horse
forward faster than before.
"Uncle John--and a prisoner," ejaculated Hal, and also spurred forward.
But a heavy hand was laid on the bridle of each.
"Here! what's the matter with you fellows?" demanded Colonel Anderson's
gruff voice. "Want to get yourselves killed?"
"But we've got to get Uncle John out of this mess," declared Chester.
"You won't get him out by getting yourselves killed," was the reply.
"He's safe enough now. He's a prisoner and they won't hurt him."
"But they'll keep him prisoner," was Chester's exclamation.
"Well, what of it?" demanded the colonel.
"Well, I don't know," said Chester slowly.
"I'll speak to the general," said Colonel Anderson. "Perhaps he will see
his way clear to making representations for his release."
"Do you think he will?" asked Hal eagerly.
"To tell you the truth, I don't, but I'll speak to him, anyhow."
With this the lads were forced to be content, for they realized that
Colonel Anderson would not permit them to go forward by themselves;
besides, they recognized the folly of such an act.
The battle was over for the moment. The Italian left wing retained the
ground won despite several counter assaults and the right wing had also
been pushed forward after vigorous fighting. The Italians held their
dearly gained victory in the center.
"Come with me," said Colonel Anderson to Hal and Chester. "We'll have a
talk with the general."
The two lads followed him.