ng to assuage
the agony of first one and then another of the most badly wounded who
were lying around. Every now and then there had been a piteous appeal
for water to slake the burning thirst, and twice over the lad had to
pass through the terrible experience of holding the hand of some poor
fellow who in the darkness had whispered his last few words as he passed
away.

Later on a couple more wounded men had been borne in by the light of a
lantern, by whose aid a place was found for them in the already too
crowded hut, and it became Pen's duty to hold the dim open lantern and
cast the light so that a busy surgeon, who was already exhausted by his
long and terrible duties, could do his best to bandage and stop some
wound.

It was just at daylight, in the midst of the terrible silence which had
now fallen around, that Pen's head had sunk slowly down till it rested
upon Punch's shoulder; and when the sun rose at last its horizontal rays
lit up the dismal scene, with the elder lad's pallid and besmirched
face, consequent upon the help he had been called upon to render, giving
him the appearance of being one of the wounded men.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

WAR'S HORRORS.

But the morning brought not only the horizontal rays of the great sun
which lit up the hut with its sad tale of death and suffering, but
likewise a renewal of the fight of the previous day, and this time the
tide of battle swept much nearer to the encampment of the wounded.

Punch started out of a state of dreamy calm, and wondered why the noise
he heard had not roused up his sleeping comrade, for from apparently
quite near at hand came the boom of artillery, a sound which for the
moment drowned all others, even the hoarse, harshly uttered words of
command, as large bodies of men swung past the doorway of the hut, and
the fitful bugle-calls which a minute before had fallen on his ear.

"Ah," he muttered, "it's a big fight going on out there. I wonder if
those are our guns;" and once more the air was rent by the dull, angry
roar of artillery. "Pen! Pen! Oh, I can't let him sleep! Why doesn't
he wake up? Here, I say, comrade!"

"Eh, what is it?" And Pen opened his eyes, to gaze wonderingly at
Punch's excited face.

"Don't you hear?"

"Hear? Yes, yes," And the dreamy look vanished from the other's eyes.

The two lads waited, listening, and then Punch put his lips close to
Pen's ear.

"I am sure we are winning," he said. "Hear that?"

"Ho