t
and left of the first houses and two of the enemy's machine-guns just in
front of the barricade were in the hands of the 28th Regiment, and now
they advanced against the houses themselves. But it was utterly
impossible to get a foot further. A whole battalion was sacrificed
before the high barricade at the entrance to the main street, but still
they went on! There were no storming-ladders, and after all they were
hardly needed, for human pyramids were speedily run up against the
walls, and up these soldiers scrambled, assisted from below, until at
last they were high enough to shoot into the loop-holes. Others aided in
the work with axes and the butt-ends of their guns, and before long the
Americans had gained possession of several houses. All of the enemy's
searchlights concentrated their glare on the town, so that the fighting
was done in a brilliant light. The white top of the church-tower seemed
strangely near, while reddish-gold reflections played on the torn copper
roof.

But no reenforcements came from the rear, and it was no wonder, for a
furious fire from the enemy's artillery and machine-guns swept across
the space in front of Hilgard, raining bullets and balls upon the
trenches, out of which new battalions climbed again and again; the shots
plowed up the land into glowing furrows and created an impassable
fire-zone between the trenches and the nearest houses of Hilgard, whence
shrieking bugle-calls begged for immediate assistance. If the enemy
should succeed in throwing reenforcements into Hilgard, he would have no
difficulty in dislodging the Americans from the positions they had won.
Suddenly an attack from the wooded valley on the left at last brought
relief. It was the Irish brigade under General O'Brien that came on like
a whirlwind, quite unexpectedly, and joined in the fight.

This attack threw back the advancing Japanese reenforcements. The
regiments could be seen retreating in the pale light of dawn, and then
they were seen to form in line on the rising ground behind. Between
them and the rear of the town lay the Irish sharpshooters, who went
forward by leaps and bounds. But the furious artillery fire from the
enemy brought the fighting temporarily to a stand-still.

Wild confusion reigned on all sides as dawn broke. The 17th Japanese
Infantry Regiment was still battling with the two American regiments for
the possession of the front houses of Hilgard, and the two Japanese
battalions in the rear