a mass of disorganized fugitives.

For ten hours the battle had raged. To the men in the squares it
seemed a lifetime. "When shall we get at them? when shall we get at
them?" was their constant cry as the round shot swept their ranks,
although from their position behind the crest they could see nothing
of their enemies. Nothing is harder than to suffer in inactivity, and
the efforts of the officers were principally directed to appeasing 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