"
"He'll go straight to the heart of the trouble," said Harry. "He'll
attack the guns themselves."
He did not know actually in what manner Sherburne would proceed, but he
was quite sure that such would be his course. The wary Southern leader
instantly detailed a swarm of his best riflemen to creep through the
woods toward the cannon. In a few minutes the gunners themselves were
under the fire of hidden marksmen who shot surpassingly well. The
gunners, the cannoneers, the spongers, the rammers and the ammunition
passers were cut down with deadly certainty.
The captain of the guns, knowing that the terrible rifle fire was coming
from the thickets, deluged the woods and bushes with shells and shrapnel,
but the riflemen lay close, hugging the ground, and although a few were
killed and more wounded, the vast majority crept closer and closer,
shooting straight and true in the moonlight. The fire from the batteries
became scattered and wild. Their crews were cut down so fast that not
enough men were left to work the guns, and their commander reluctantly
gave the order to withdraw to a less exposed position.
"Rifles triumphant over artillery," said Harry, who studied everything
through his glasses; "but of course the dusk helped the riflemen.
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