nis."

"Is it lie down, your honor? And when shall I get the mud off my
uniform? and what will the duke say in the morning if he comes round
and sees me look like a hog that has been rowling in his sty?"

"You won't be worse than any one else, Denis; you see we shall all be
in the same boat. Well, here's the tinder. I should recommend you to
break up a cartridge, and sprinkle the powder in among the leaves that
you light your fire with."

"That's the difficulty, your honor; I have got some wood, but divil a
dry leaf can I find."

"Look here, Denis. Open your knapsack under the wagon, and take out a
shirt and tear it into strips. You will soon get a fire with that, and
we can easily replace the shirt afterward."

"That's a grand idea, your honor. That will do it, sure enough. Faith,
and when the boys see how I do it, there will be many a shirt burned
this evening."

"But how about wood, Denis?"

"There's plenty of wood, your honor. The commissaries have had two or
three score of woodcutters at work on the edge of the forest all day,
and there's timber felled and split enough for all of us and to spare.
The pioneers of all the regiments have gone off with their axes to
help, and I will warrant there will be a blaze all along the line
presently. Now I will be off, your honor; for the cooks are ready to
boil the kettles as soon as we can get a fire."

Great masses of the enemy could now be seen arriving on the crest of
the opposite rise. Presently, these broke up into regiments, and then
moved along the crest, halted, and fell out. It was evident that
nothing would be done till next morning, for it was already beginning
to get dusk.

In a few minutes smoke rose in the rear of the regiment, and ere long
half a dozen great fires were blazing. Men came from the regiments
near to borrow brands. The news soon spread along the line of the
means by which the Twenty-eighth had kindled their fires and, as Denis
had foretold, the number of shirts sacrificed for this purpose was
large. Strong parties from each regiment were told off to go to the
woodpiles and bring up logs, and in spite of the continued downfall of
rain the men's spirits rose, and merry laughs were heard among the
groups gathered round the fires. The officers had one to themselves;
and a kettle was soon boiling, and tin cups of strong grog handed
round. Of food, however, there was little beyond what scraps remained
in the haversacks; for the commissariat w