Crossing the lane, they ran up the bank
where the two soldiers were still standing, and almost before they
realised what was happening their bonnets had been taken off their heads
and they found themselves prisoners. It was a clever capture, and as it
took place immediately before our eyes, we remained standing there
looking on with astonishment, for we had no idea what was about to
happen.
But immediately the scene changed, and soldiers appeared in front, both
in the lane and high up above the road. But the worst feature was that
they began firing their guns; so here we were in a deep lane from which
there was no escape, and, as we afterwards ascertained, between the two
halves of one of the most famous regiments in the British army, one
ambuscaded by the other! We were taken completely by surprise, as we had
never seen or heard of a sham fight before, and it appeared a terrible
thing to us, as the fiery eyes and fierce countenances of the soldiers
were fearful to see, and we became greatly alarmed, expecting every
minute to be taken prisoners. I consoled my brother by telling him the
guns were only loaded with blank cartridges, but his only remark was,
"But suppose one of them isn't, and we get shot," and he began to walk
onwards more quickly than I had ever seen him walk before.
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