The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-08-02

Assault tomorrow, all along the line,"
replied the adJutant- Three rockets from
the French rings up the curtain. "Once
more, congratulations on your promotion,
I though. as | SAID before, we snail all be very
/ sorry to lose you"
/ "Well, l shall have one last turn with the
/ old regiment, anyhow" said Hugh.
Yes, and pretty lively one, too" said
the adjuia laughing, FOR, from what
the brigade-maior told me, We are 70 be IN
the thick of the fun from the very begin
/ ming. However, as far as that goes, | fancy
there will be very few left out of the game
before it's finished. All, there goes the fall
| in" and all three officer hurried off to the
parade ground in answer to the shrill note
Of the bugle. We'll" said Tom, as they
walked up and down, Il wonder how you
will get on in the Guards! Out here. their
your promotion will most likely take YOU
home, aad then you will find soldering in
London very different from soldering in
garrison towns and country quarters.
But i don't want to go home" said
Hugh. There is battalion of Grenadiers
out here; l suppose | can join thats Why
should be sent homer
because there's a lot Of fellows in Eng
land dying to co ne out here; because you've
| had your chance, and are bound 70 give
some others theirs; because you're the Junior
of your rank, aud, like other juniors. must
expect to do the dirty work, drill recruits,
| lick stout young laborers into soldiers etc u
by Jove, l never thought Of thatln re-
| joined Hugh. This promotion isn't half as
| good a thing as l thought. I'd rather hang
on, and get company in my own regi-
ment."
"Nonsense!" said Byng, laughing. PAY
promotion and plumber, are the three things
| that they say soldier shonld never pass
when they come in his way. But here comes
the chief, fall in"
A few minutes more, and the til found
| themselves part of long, dark column.
which was winding like a serpent on its
way to the trenches The heavy roar of the
artillery was incessant Shells whistled
and spluttered through the soft summer
night, the air seemed alive with meteors
and every now and then heavy thud. fol-
lowed by an angry explosion that burst
| close to the winding column, and the sud-
den stumbling of two or three men, proved
the messenger Of death mad been launched
only too successfully. The advanced
trenches we're gradually orammed with
men, and bitterly did the chiefs Of the re-
serves deplore the lack of one or more
sheltered places d. drnles wherein
they might beStow their men, That
the Russians, after all these months
| of practice, should have got the range
OF pretty well every part of our lines 1t is
| easy to imagine, but fortunately the pitch
| ing she'll from distance with accuracy
| into ditch, which is what a trench Writ
| ually is. is a task that tries the powers Of
| the most expert artilleryman. But where
the trench expanded into a battery. it was
very different. There the Muscovite had a
| bigger target to aim at and Che men who
served their guns, suffered terribly during
the concluding months of the siege. All
| through the night roared the thuudrous
! cannonade on both sides, the air hissed and
hurtled with the savage missiles, while in
the crowded trenches pulses beat high, and
men strained their eyes in search Of the
first grey streaks which should herald the
coming day.
Daylight" said Byng, pointing to the
| sky.
| "Now for it," muttered many an anxious
| lip, and with ears erect men awaited the
| sharp word of command from their chiefs.
and the shril cry of a bugle. Neither came.
and slowly the word ran through the
trenches that there would be no assault un-
til the artillerymen had had some hours'
pounding at the Russian lines Our foes
mad taught our leaders a lesson, and shown
that much as our guns might knock their
defenses about in the daytime, their power
of restoring those defenses by night was
almost magical. If the fire ragged furiously
all night, IL was very storm of shot and
she'll now the sun was up, and the gunners
on each side had a fair sight of their oppo>
nents batteries. The sun is high in the
heavens. yet still goes on the constant roar
and crash Of cannon and mortar and still
no signal comes for the assault. 1t is near
noon when suddenly three rockets
leaped high IN the air, and a
crash OF musketry notified US that
the French had opened the ball on the right
"Forwar the stcrmers,r cried the general
commanding the attack. Forward
cried the colonies of the leading regiments.
Away there the ladder party" shouted an
Lea -
the charge. Forward til" shouts Hugh
Fleming, as be and Byng spring over the
parapet, and dash forward at a steady
double straight for the salient of the great
Redan. while the very heavens resound
with the sharp rattle OF musketry from all
sides. Tho dbGtttS is broken rapidly by the
Sappsrs in three or four places, but ev en-
that momentary delay occasions fearful
havoc In the ranks of the assailants, while
the Russian batteries are now sweeping the
space between their own lines and the Brit
ish right attack with murderous cross
fire of grape and canister. Still they press
on, dauutleSs as ever, though now every
step man pitches heavily for
ward and rolls over. What Is left of the
two leading regiments, the sailors and Sap
pers, have gained the ditch of the Redan.
Byng springs into the ditcn, closely fol-
lowed by his men; two or three of the
engineers promptly raised q ladder; he
rushes toward it and terrible malediction
ESCAPES his lips as ne discovers that it is too
short A little to his right Hugh Fleming
has been more fortunate, and having
cleared space by the free use Of his revol-
yer, has gained the parapet His men
swarm up after him. A sharp hand-to-
hand fight, and the salient of the Redan is
won Up other ladders their comrades
pour to their assistance, and slowly, but
steadily, the foe is driven back to the gorge
of the work.
But where are the reinforcements? They
have room now to use plenty of men il they
had them, but they are too weak in mum.
Der to follow their foe further than they
have already driven him. This the enemy
is not slow to perceive; he rallies and
stands his ground. The opposing Uarties
pause and glance at each other like pugiI-
lists betweea the rounds, when the battle is
far from being fought out. But there is this
terrible difference between them: whereas
no reinforcements are reaching the English.
they are steadily pouring in to the Rus
slams
The gallant colonel who leads the storm
ers is beside himself with vexation. He has
won the works he to lose it, and all the
lives it has cost him be wasted in valn9
Messenger after messenger he dispatches in
search of those solely-needed reinforce
ments, but they never come back.
Look here" he said, addressing a small
knot Of officers who had temporarily gath
cred near the parapet, do l look as if |
was in funkp