ed silent.

Suddenly two red rockets rose quickly one after the other on the right
near the mountain, and they were followed directly by two blue ones;
they went out noiselessly high up in the air. Was it a signal of friend
or foe? The regiments came to a halt for a moment, but nothing further
happened, except that the two searchlights beyond Hilgard kept their
eyes fixed on the spot where the rockets had ascended. A dog barked in
the town, but was choked off in the middle of a howl. Then death-like
stillness reigned in front once more, but several cannon thundered in
the rear and a few isolated shots rang out from the wooded valleys on
the left.

The front ranks had reached the wire barricades. Suddenly a sharp cry
of pain broke the silence and red flames shot forth from the ground,
lighting up the posts and the network of wires. Several soldiers were
seen to be caught in the wires, which were apparently charged with
electricity. Now was the time! The pioneers provided with rubber gloves
to protect them against the charged wires went at it with a vengeance,
and were soon hacking away with their axes. Loud curses and cries of
pain were heard here and there. "Shut up, you cowards!" yelled some one
in a subdued voice. The black silhouettes of the men, who were tossing
long boards and bags of earth on top of the wires, stood out sharply
against the light of the explosives with which the Americans were
attempting to loosen the supporting posts.

[Illustration: Diagram of the Battle of Hilgard]

The light of the dancing flames fell on swaying, leaping figures.
Shots rang out constantly, millions of sparks flew all around and
through all the din could be distinguished the short, sharp
rattatattatt--rrrrr--rattatattatt of the machine-guns, sounding more
like cobble-stones being emptied out of a cart than anything else.

Hell had meanwhile broken loose on the other side. The attacking
regiments were exposed to a perfectly terrific rifle-fire from the
houses and streets of Hilgard, which was accompanied by a destructive
cannonade. But on they went! Over the corpses of the slain who had
breathed their last jammed in among the deadly wires, over the swaying
planks and through the gaps made by the exploding bombs, the battalions
swept on with loud shouts of Hurrah! What mattered it that the
machine-guns, which they had brought along, were sometimes dragged
through furrows of blood! On they went! The field-batteries to the righ