he side of the ridge was made.
Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon looked at Deck in wonder.

"What does this mean?" he began. "Do you--Great heavens! Double-quick,
boys, if you want to save your lives!" And the double-quick became a
triple-quick, and some went even faster. Scarcely had the regiment left
the fated spot when the rocks and dirt came crashing down, sweeping
trees, brush, and vines before it, and ploughing up the ground as
though with so many gigantic plough-shares.

"You saved the regiment!" cried Tom Belthorpe as he met Deck, a moment
later. And Gordon said the same.

The order to go forward again was now given, and away went the
Riverlawns in what was little short of an ugly mood, for they did not
consider the letting down of the rocks and dirt as square fighting. Deck
continued at the head of the first battalion, and inside of five minutes
gained the top of the ridge. A regiment of Confederates were there, in
the act of retreating, and he charged them relentlessly, causing them to
fairly tumble down the slopes opposite. The whole regiment was soon at
hand, and the fight did not come to an end until the enemy had been
driven clear out of sight.

Missionary Ridge was won, but now was no time to celebrate the victory,
although cheer after cheer rang along the mountain peaks and every Union
flag to be had was waving lustily. The Confederate artillery was seized
and pointed in the opposite direction, and the log barricades were torn
down and set up in places of greater advantage. At the centre, the
Confederates tried to make another stand, but it availed nothing, and
overwhelmed, they threw down their arms and fled.

But even yet the work for the Riverlawns was not all over. There was
another ridge between General Sherman and the main body of the Union
troops, a ridge near the tunnel under the mountain, where General
Bragg's right flank rested. This must still be taken, and again the
Riverlawns played an important part, fighting until long after sundown,
with Sherman's invincible command.

The fighting was still on, when Deck's battalion found itself in a
little gulch, pursuing a small body of Confederates that had been
uncovered ten minutes before. The enemy had been fired at four times,
and half a dozen men had fallen. The battalion pressed them so closely
that soon the leader was seen to throw away his sword and lift up his
hands in token of surrender.

The face-to-face meeting with the Confederate was a su