Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/533

Rh party, whose ascent along the south side has been facilitated by a top fire upon its bastion. Light howitzers and captured guns are turned upon the castle and the raised terrace along the eastern verge, mingling their thunder with the sharp ring of rifles, driving the defenders from the windows and roofs and forcing them over the walls, while covering the entrance of the stormers. A chance shot strikes the staff, and the castle flag bends over; but the next moment it is righted again by sturdy hands, and flutters forth defiantly. The assailants press closer, however, and are already in hand-to-hand conflict within the citadel. The excitement of battle and the loss of comrades seem to have frenzied them, for they rage with a ferocity never before displayed during the war, granting little or no quarter. And few ask it. The very cadets, mere boys of fourteen years and upward, fight with heroic daring, and cheer their elders on as they stand at bay to sell their lives dearly, banishing sombre premonitions and quailing not at death. The blood of stripling and graybeard mingle in their flow, and bear the mournful tidings in the red-tinged waters of the aqueducts. Finally a party gains the roof and strikes the flag; and as the banner of the invaders rises, midst deafening huzzas, a change sets in. The authoritative voice of the officers prevails; the slaughter stops; the vanquished yield. Bravo surrenders, together with four generals and 100 other officers, the total number of prisoners captured on and round the hill being placed at 800.