hemselves.

"I sent for you to your camp," the king said, "but found that you but
waited to change your clothes, and had then joined the force crossing.
You had no orders to do so."

"We had no orders not to do so, sire, but having begun the affair it was
only natural that we should see the end of it."

"You had done your share and more," the king said, "and I thank you
both heartily for it, and promote you, Graheme, at once to the rank of
captain, and will request Colonel Munro to give you the first company
which may fall vacant in his regiment. If a vacancy should not occur
shortly I will place you in another regiment until one may happen in
your own corps. To you, sergeant, I give a commission as officer.
You will take that rank at once, and will be a supernumerary in your
regiment till a vacancy occurs. Such promotion has been well and
worthily won by you both."

Without delay an advance was ordered against Oppenheim. It lay on the
Imperialist side of the Rhine. Behind the town stood a strong and well
fortified castle upon a lofty eminence. Its guns swept not only the
country around it, but the ground upon the opposite side of the river.
There, facing it, stood a strong fort surrounded by double ditches,
which were deep and broad and full of water. They were crossed only by
a drawbridge on the side facing the river, and the garrison could
therefore obtain by boats supplies or reinforcements as needed from the
town.

The Green and Blue Brigades at once commenced opening trenches against
this fort, and would have assaulted the place without delay had not a
number of boats been brought over by a Protestant well wisher of the
Swedes from the other side of the river. The assault was therefore
delayed in order that the attack might be delivered simultaneously
against the positions on both sides of the river. The brigade of guards
and the White Brigade crossed in the boats at Gernsheim, five miles from
the town, and marched against it during the night.

The Spaniards from their lofty position in the castle of Oppenheim saw
the campfires of the Scots around their fort on the other side of the
river, and opened a heavy cannonade upon them. The fire was destructive,
and many of the Scots were killed, Hepburn and Munro having a narrow
escape, a cannonball passing just over their heads as they were sitting
together by a fire.

The defenders of the fort determined to take advantage of the fire
poured upon their assailan