for the twentieth
time; "I can't help thinking more of him than of anyone else."

Making inquiry of some soldiers whom they at length met with stretchers
carrying the wounded men they had picked up, Tom asked if they could
tell him over what ground the--

Guards had passed.

"You must keep farther to the left," was the answer; "you will come upon
some dead Highlanders, and they are just beyond them."

The bonnets of the Highlanders were soon discovered, and not far off the
tall bearskins showed where the Guards had fought. The midshipmen,
however, made but slow progress, for they could not help stopping to
relieve those who required their aid, both friends and foes, till Archie
had used up all his bandages, and their spirits and water were nearly
expended. As Tom had not found Sidney, his spirits rose with the hope
that, at all events, he might have escaped being killed. The enormous
number of Russian dead, who were now seen covering the plain, showed the
part of the ground where the last desperate conflict had taken place.
Whole ranks of the enemy had fallen under the withering fire of the
Guards and Highlanders. In one spot they came upon an entire line of
Russians, every man of whom had been shot down apparently at the same
moment; indeed, far as the eye could reach on either side, the plain was
thickly strewn with the dead.

At length a long line of upright figures was seen arrayed on the left,
with numerous banners waving above their heads, and horsemen moving to
and fro; the red hue on the left showing where the victorious soldiers
of England stood, halted on the battlefield, while on the right appeared
the masses of the French army, with the Turkish troops who had marched
forward to their support. They occupied the ground on which they were
to bivouac before advancing again in pursuit of the flying foe.

The midshipmen made their way towards the troops on the left, and were
able, by looking at the lofty bearskins of the Guards, to find out the
regiment to which Sidney Rogers belonged. Almost breathless with
eagerness, Tom inquired for his brother.

"He is there," said a sergeant, pointing to a spot where a group of
officers stood together, eagerly discussing the events of the day.

Tom, unable to restrain his feelings, gave a shout of joy, in which
Archie joined him. As they hurried forward, Sidney advanced to meet
them, and they were soon shaking him heartily by the hand, and
congratulating him