Finding they could not save the gun, the Chinese loaded it to the very muzzle with a triple charge of powder and two shells, intending to blow it up.
"They are going to blow up the gun!" was the cry. And, seeing the movement, the majority of the Americans hurled themselves flat, to avoid the force of the explosion. But, before the gunners could touch off the piece, several sharpshooters picked them off; and the gun was saved.
The Americans on the embankment were confronting at least ten times their own number; and, as the tide of battle swept on, it looked as if they would be wiped out by such a horde. They had been fighting since five o'clock in the morning, and it was now half-past seven. More than two-thirds of their ammunition had been spent.
The gun was the centre of attraction, and soon the whole battalion was massed behind it. Some gunners tried to use the piece, but failed in their efforts to clean it out.
At this juncture a strong force of Japanese were seen to be approaching from the westward,—a force which had succeeded in turning the enemy's right wing. Seeing the Americans in front of the Chinese,
