Then his eyes turned back to
the gun, because there his duty lay.
Ned heard the trumpet peal again, and then the thud of hoofs. He saw the
rammers and spongers gather about the gun. The rifle of the Ring Tailed
Panther cracked, and the man with the rammer fell. Another picked it up,
but he went down before the bullet of Obed. Then a sponger fell, and
then the gunner himself was slain by the bullet. The Texans were doing
wonderful sharpshooting. The gun could not be fired, because nobody
could live near it long enough to fire it. Its entire complement was
cleared away by the swift little bullets.
Off to right and left, Ned heard again the rising crackle of the rifle
fire, and he also heard the steady monotonous beat of the hoofs. He knew
that the charge was still coming on, but Bowie would attend to that. He
and his immediate comrades never took their eyes from the gun. New
cannoneers, an entire complement, were rushing forward to take the place
of their fallen comrades. The Mexicans showed plenty of courage that
day but the deadly sharpshooters were slaying them as fast as they came.
They were yet unable to fire the gun. Nor could they draw it back from
its dangerous position. A second time all about it were slain, but a
third body came forward for the trial.
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