And the thunder of galloping hoofs was more menacing than that of the cannon.
Dick looked around him and saw faces turning pale.

His own might be whiter than any of theirs for all he knew, but he shouted with the other officers: "Steady! Steady! Now pour it into 'em!" It was well that most of the men in the regiment had become sharpshooters, and that despite the thumping of their hearts, they were able to stand firm.

Their sleet of bullets emptied a hundred saddles, and slipping in the cartridges they fired again at close range.

The cavalry charge seemed to stop dead in its tracks, and in an instant a scene of terrible confusion occurred.

Wounded horses screaming in pain rushed wildly back upon their own comrades or through the ranks of the foe.