Captain Maude’s troop of horse artillery opened fire on the Russians and maintained it for some time. Presently the Lancers saw on their flank a stretcher being carried by. On it, horribly wounded, lay the gallant Captain Maude. Soon the ammunition of the horse battery was exhausted, and it had to retire till the ammunition wagons should arrive. By that time the Russians were swarming across the ditch and over the feeble parapet of No. 1 Redoubt. The Russians outnumbered the Turks by ten to one, yet the latter maintained an obstinate bayonet-fight until sheer weight of numbers crushed the Turks and they fled, or at least about a third of them did. Two-thirds they left dead--for the Russians could be depended upon to slay all the wounded--in the fort behind them. ‘By George, the Bono Johnnies are running!’ exclaimed Pearson; ‘they’ve bolted.’ ‘Ha, hum! they won’t bolt far,’ said Sergeant Linham grimly; and as he spoke the Russian artillery opened on them; then a cloud of Cossacks pursued them and speared many a hapless Moslem. Jack bit his lip. ‘It’s galling to sit here and see one’s allies butchered before one’s face,’ he said. ‘Why don’t they let us go out and cover the retreat of these poor wretches?’ ‘We should be simply eaten up,’ replied Linham; ‘look at the enormous masses of cavalry advancing.’ ‘Besides, why should we bother about these cowardly Turks?’ said Pearson. ‘Why don’t they stick to their guns?’ ‘They’ve stuck pretty well to ’em, I think,’ replied Linham. ‘They fought till it was quite clear we either could not or would not support them, and to have stopped longer would have been sheer madness.’ An enormous body of cavalry advanced down the valley, covering the advance of seven battalions and several batteries. These latter soon opened fire on the other forts, the guns from the captured No. 1 Redoubt being directed against No. 2. The Turks, realising that the English cavalry was unable to support them, did not wait for the attack which the Russian infantry was seen to be preparing to make upon them, and were soon scuttling out of the forts and retreating towards Balaclava. The Light Brigade was advanced to cover their retreat. ‘They don’t seem inclined to make much of a fight of it,’ said Jack to Pearson. ‘No, the fate of their comrades in No. 1 Fort seems to have given ’em the funks. They’ve actually deserted the guns, and left their colours too.’ ‘They seem more anxious about their personal belongings than anything else,’ said Jack; ‘just look at the beggars, surely those are pots and pans some of them are carrying.’ ‘So it is,’ laughed Brandon; ‘and look at that white-bearded old sinner, he’s actually carrying a bed on his back.’ This was the case, and the Turks began to pour from the forts towards the English cavalry, many crying loudly, ‘Ship, ship!’