Page:The Campaign of the Jungle.djvu/229

Rh wan av thim, anyhow, captain," he added, with a jerk of his thumb toward the Igorrote, who lay with a broken head.

"Yes, Casey; and you saved me, too," returned Ben, earnestly. "You are worth two ordinary men;" and then captain and private drifted apart, as the tide of battle rolled forward.

The top of the hill was gained, but for once the insurgents did not know when they were whipped, and held to their guns until more than half of their number were either killed or wounded. The contest raged to the right and the left of the battery, and this was fortunate, for seeing they could not hold the pieces, some of the rebels overcharged one of the guns and set it off, blowing it into a thousand pieces. Then the main body retreated into the jungle, carrying a few of their wounded with them.

By this time it was raining again, and the downpour on the top of the hill was so great that little could be seen of the condition of affairs at a distance. Sending word that the hill was taken and one old-fashioned Spanish field-piece captured. Major Morris rallied his battalion around him and stood on the defensive. But the rebels