u doing nothing."

_Rush_!--_Boom_!

Roy ducked down his head, for the rushing noise seemed to be close over
him; and as he raised it again, flushing with shame and glancing sharply
round to see what impression his flinching had made on the men around,
Ben said, quietly--

"Four, sir; and you see on'y one hit us; the earthwork has thrown all
the others upward. That last one was nigh to a hundred foot overhead."

"A hundred feet! and I flinched," thought Roy. "But why don't you
fire?" he cried, aloud.

"Thought I'd wait for you, sir, and that you'd like the first shot."

"Yes, of course," cried the boy, excitedly.

"And we haven't wasted time, sir; corp'ral and me's been pretty busy,
getting what we thinks about the right depression of the muzzles, for
you see we're a good height up here. I don't know that we shall be
right, but we can soon get the range; and if you'll begin now, sir, I'd
like you to try my gun first."

"Ready!" cried Roy, whose heart began to thump heavily.

"Like to take a squint along her, sir, first?" said Ben.

"No; I'll trust to your aim."

"Then, stand fast there!" cried Ben; and taking the port-fire from the
man who held it, he presented it to the young castellan, who glanced at
the earthwork, where he could see men busy, and a couple of squadrons of
troopers drawn up some distance back on either side; and then, setting
his teeth hard, he let the sparkling fuse fall softly on the touch-hole
of the gun.

There was a flash, a great ball of smoke, the gun rushed backward, and
the report seemed to stun Roy, whose ears rang, and a strange singing
noise filled his head.

Ben said a few words, and leaned over the battlement, sheltering his
eyes to watch the effect of the shot, as the smoke rose and began to
spread. Then he turned and shouted something; but what it was Roy could
not hear, neither could he catch a word that was uttered by the
trooper-corporal, though the movement of his lips suggested that he was
speaking.

"Can't hear you," shouted Roy, as loudly as he could; and the man
smiled, and pointed to the port-fire and the second gun.

That was clear enough to understand; so Roy took a couple of steps
towards the breech, and as the men stood drawn up in regular form on
either side, he once more touched the priming.

Another flash, puff, and deafening roar, which he heard quite plainly;
and oddly enough it seemed to have had the effect of restoring his ears
to their custo