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felt his heart beat rapidly as he advanced at the head of the second division of Company A. It was no slight thing to rush to the firing line at any time, and he felt that the present movement was to be hotly resisted.

The gun before them was situated on an elevation of ten feet above the marsh, with a bank on the right and the left. In front of the gun was a deep ditch, all of fifteen feet wide. But at one end of the ditch was a small pile of dirt, which, in their haste, the Chinese had been unable to remove.

Boom! the gun belched forth just as the battalion was crossing the marsh, cutting down three of the soldiers and causing a momentary check in Company B.

"Forward!" shouted the major. "Don't hang back, boys. We'll soon have the hill!"

"Forward it is!" shouted an old regular. "Who's