sionary Ridge can hardly be
overestimated. At some points the sides were almost perpendicular, and
at others the shell rock crumbled beneath the touch. At the top were
stationed forty pieces of artillery, and thousands of the enemy. Shot
and shell rained down incessantly, and great gaps were torn into the
ranks, as company after company pressed up, bound to gain the summit at
any cost. To those who saw it, it was a sight the mind's eye could never
lose. The officers were as excited as the men, and no one in command
could have ordered those under him back, even had he been so inclined.

The Riverlawns had come forward on horseback, but now, after the
rifle-pits were gained, it was deemed best to dismount. Away they went
on foot, close to Sherman's side, with Long's cavalry but a short
distance away.

"We have them on the run, boys!" shouted Colonel Gordon. "Forward! Don't
lag behind the rest of the line!" And forward they went, until the first
battalion was far up the heights, with Deck at their head, waving his
sabre enthusiastically over his head. His breast had been sore from that
sword prick in the rib, but now all that was forgotten in the excitement
of the moment.

"There is a break!" he shouted to Gordon, and pointed to the spot with
his sabre. It was an opening several hundred feet wide, and the
Riverlawns rushed to fill it. Then on they went again, pell-mell,
panting for breath, and firing as often as the opportunity presented
itself. Once a shot tore through the companies, but it did not stay
their progress.

A cheer swept down the line. Some regiment had gained a peak some
distance away, and the Confederate standard was torn down, and the
glorious stars and stripes hoisted in its stead. The cheer was nerve
inspiring, and onward swept the boys in blue with more enthusiasm than
ever.

The Riverlawns were still a hundred feet from the point they were trying
to gain, when, on looking through the cloud of smoke, Deck saw a sight
that filled him with horror. Above was a huge mass of loose rocks and
dirt. The Confederates had shovelled away to the front of the mass, and
now it was just starting on its downward way. Should it strike the
regiment it would fairly annihilate the ranks.

For an instant Deck could not speak. Then his voice rang out like a
trumpet:--

"Riverlawns! Right face! Double-quick--march!"

"Right-face! Double-quick--march!" rang from one battalion to another,
and a sharp turn off along t