gler here, but was not able to get him
into our lines by myself, on account of his lying down and refusing to
come; so I broke his musket, but not feeling inclined even then to
leave him, I knelt down to protect myself a little from the enemy's
shot, and waited for some assistance. This was not long in coming, for
the colonel, seeing my position, allowed a man, Towser by name, who
had volunteered, to come and lend me a hand, and thus we were enabled
to get my captive safe at last to the lines: not, however, without
some risk to our own lives, as the enemy were firing at us all the
time from a fort situated a short distance from the river. The man was
not at all willing at first to walk, so we dragged him by the leg
along the ground for some way; but owing to the roughness of the
road, he soon found that he preferred walking. We searched him and
found a doubloon and a half on his person, which Towser and I divided
equally between us. The colonel reprimanded me for running such a risk
for one prisoner, but he was satisfied with my answer, which was that
perhaps the man had been on the alert to fire at some of us, which
might have terminated in the colonel's own death, or maybe in mine.
The colonel had already been slightly wounded in the leg, which
obliged him afterwards to go into the hospital at Elvas, and some
thirty-eight of my comrades unfortunately met their deaths in this
affray.

The colonel sent a quantity of rum from Elvas to be divided amongst
those men who were in action at the time he received his wound, but
the officer then in charge of us, whom nobody in the regiment liked,
only served out the half of it, which only came to about half a pint
for each man, much to the discontent of all. I spoke out and said that
we ought to have it all, as the colonel had sent it, and we had had to
fight hard for it; which so put out the officer that he said I should
not have any at all. The sergeant, however, gave me a half a pint with
the rest, unbeknown to the officer, and immediately went and asked him
if I was to have any. The officer then told him to "let the rascals
have the lot, and then they would be satisfied," so thus I came in for
another half pint, which I put into my canteen with some water to
drink when I might next be on sentry.

This came to my turn on the very night following, and as it chanced, I
was commanded by the same officer that I have been alluding to. It was
not often that the major went round wi