y
suddenly swarmed out of the woods and advanced to the attack. A Russian
battery on our right instantly opened on them. This was replied to
vigorously by a Turkish battery opposite. While these two turned their
attention on each other, the troops in the plain below came into action.
They swarmed over the numerous undulations, skirmished through the
scrub and the fields of corn and maize, attacked a village in a hollow,
and charged on various batteries and positions of strength,--sometimes
one side, sometimes the other, being successful. The thunder of the
great guns increased, the tremendous rattle of small arms became
continuous, with now and again exceptionally strong bursts, when whole
battalions fired in volleys. The smoke soon became so dense as partly
to obscure the vision.

At that moment a Turkish battalion was seen to approach the mound on
which we stood, with the evident intention of storming it. At the same
time I observed a squadron of Russian cavalry trot smartly round the
skirt of a wood on our left and take up a position. They were not fifty
yards from the spot where I stood. I could even see the expression of
their faces, and I fancied that the figure and countenance of the
right-hand man of the troop were familiar to me.

"He's a fine-looking man, sir, is he not?" said a voice at my elbow.

I turned in amazement. It was Dobri Petroff! There was no room for
more than a squeeze of the hand at such a moment.

"That is our friend Andre Vanovitch, sir."

As he spoke I saw the captain of the troop fall from his horse. A stray
ball had killed him, and this was the first thing that drew my attention
to the fact that bullets were whistling over our own heads now and then.

This happened at the very moment when a staff officer galloped up to the
troop with an order. Seeing what had happened, this officer put himself
at the head of the troop and gave the command to advance.

I recognised the voice at once as that of Nicholas. They swept past
close in front of us at full gallop, and I could see on the face of
Nicholas and on that of the stalwart Andre the same open, gladsome,
noble expression, suggestive of high chivalrous sentiment, and a desire
to do noble self-sacrificing deeds for fatherland. My own heart bounded
within me as I looked at them, and I could not resist bursting into a
cheer, which was taken up and prolonged wildly by the troops around.

The squadron came upon the Turks unexp