Meanwhile, the volunteers and sappers were making a hurried search for the big guns, For a moment the horrible thought seized us that thee might be no gun: all—that the enemy, as as so often been the of late, had somehow yot wind of and had removed the lit of everybody, Tom" itself was discovered, "nuszly raper of sandboys no AAT-inch howitzer was found ement hardly less with a M yun between the apparently, for the riy such assault ay ually delivered, sappers ai rillerymen, at once tuck 5 with a party of two
charge of "Long Tom," and, getting to work with crowbars and baun breech and the elevating gear, Two charses of gun-cotton were then pliced in the breech and muzzle, and connected with ong Tom" was thus being provided for, similar attentions were bestowed the howitzer by Captain Fowke and the other sappers and gunners, 'The preparations being complete, General Hunter ordered the men to make their way buck down. the hill, and the fuses were set light to with the burning ends of the elficers' cigas Everybody fell back, with the exception of Captain Fowke, who remained midway between the big guns, and, after a couple of minutes' suspense, x load report showed that our object had bern accomplished, tain hastened to examine the denis, that the G-inch gun hac two uxping holes in its muzzle, which was Iwdly bulged, and that the breech and rifling had been destroyed beyond all chance of repair. The howitzer was in even worse plight, the explosion having ed the carriage as well ax the gun.
Maxim was seized and carried off, and the men began the return journey to camp across the plain, without being i ested by the trophies of the sortie song-hook, found in a cay underneath the parapet, h the gun ers evidently took refuge, and a private letter by one of them, in which he said that "the Burghers were now a bit frightened."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.