Page:At the Fall of Port Arthur.djvu/229

Rh were working over a rock that weighed several hundreds of pounds.

All at once the mass broke loose. There was a yell of delight from above, and then the big bowlder came rolling straight for Gilbert. Had it touched him he must surely have been crushed to death.

But the young Southerner was as cool as he was quick. Pausing to make certain which way the big stone was coming down, he made a quick leap in the opposite direction. Then the bowlder went bounding past him, to crash into some small trees at the bottom of the hill.

"Are you hurt, captain?" asked his lieutenant.

"No," answered Gilbert. Then he leaped to the front once more. "Come!" he cried. "Banzai! Forward for the Mikado!" And on the whole company went as before, firing rapidly as they did so. The Russians clung to the hilltop a few minutes longer, and then, as the first of the Japanese gained a footing there, they broke and fled in wild disorder down the other side of the hill, and into the woods to the northward. The Japanese pursued them for two hours but could not catch them, and at last the chase was abandoned. In this skirmish, called the battle of Po-yang-ling, the Japanese lost in killed and wounded four men, and the Russians