Page:The Indian Mutiny of 1857.djvu/272

242 lock and a private named Jakes alone were unwounded Unable to pass the barricade, Havelock, erect on his horse, waved his sword and called on the main body to come on. Jakes stood by his side, loading and firing as fast as he could. There they stood, the hero officer and the hero private, for fully two minutes exposed to the full fire of the enemy. They stood unharmed. Then suddenly there was a rush, and the Madras Fusiliers dashed forward, cleared the bridge, stormed the barricade, and bayoneted the rebel gunners where they stood. The bridge was gained. The entrance gate into Lakhnao was won.

On the regiments of the second brigade closing up, the whole force crossed by the bridge, and then, in pursuance of the plan indicated, turned sharp to the right along the canal. There was one exception to this movement. The 78th was sent with orders to hold the end of the direct Kánhpur road, cover the advance of the heavy guns, and then to follow the column as its rear-guard. The main body meanwhile, followed the lane along the canal for two miles, then turned northwards near the Dilkushá bridge, when its progress was suddenly checked by a formidable obstacle. Before them, under lee of the Kaisarbágh, was a narrow bridge across a nullah, commanded by guns and musketry fire from that building. The bridge could not hold more than two abreast. However, a rush was made, and the men who crossed opened a fire on the rebels to cover the passage of their comrades. Many men were here struck down, when suddenly the situation was mended by the 78th in a manner presently to be related. Then the crossing was effected, and the men, reuniting, halted under cover of some deserted buildings near the Chatr Manzil.

Darkness was now coming on. Outram, who had