With carbines held across their breasts, they simply moved steadily forward without a halt or a backward glance.

Behind them the slope was dotted with their dead and.
wounded, but the survivors took no heed of their depleted ranks.
Roosevelt, with the silken cavalry banner fluttering beside him, led the way, and there was no man who would not follow him to the death.
Half-way up the hill-side Ridge Norris pitched headlong to the ground, and some one said: "Poor fellow! News of his promotion came just in time." As the young Lieutenant fell, another officer, cheering on his men immediately behind him, also dropped, pierced with bullets.

The sword that he had been waving was flung far in advance, and as Ridge, who had only stumbled over an unnoticed mound of earth, regained his feet unharmed, he saw it lying in front of him and picked it up.

He was entitled to carry a sword now, and here was one to his hand.
The Spaniards could not believe that these few men, frantically climbing that bullet-swept hill-side, would ever gain the crest.

So they doggedly held their position, firing with the regularity of machines, and expecting with each moment to see the American ranks melt away or break in precipitate night.