The great point was to effect an entrance. This could only be done by removing the barricade. This was a task of no ordinary danger; whoever undertook it had to count on concentrating on himself the whole fire of the enemy. Here again Lieutenant Kerr boldly exposed his life to almost certain destruction by rushing forward, crowbar in hand, and emulating the vigour of the Black Knight in “Ivanhoe” in the ponderous blows he struck. It seemed that day as if he bore a charmed life; the bullets of the rebels whistled around him in every direction, but still he plied his crowbar till the barricade began to yield. At length, as on the former occasion, he made an opening wide enough to admit a person in a stooping position. As soon as this was done he rushed through, followed by his faithful attendant, Gumpunt Row, who was resolved to share his leader’s fate. The rebels were waiting their approach, and no sooner had they appeared within the walls than they were met by a volley, from which they fortunately escaped unhurt. Without giving them time to reload they rushed upon the mutineers, and a desperate hand-to-hand combat ensued. The rebels were far superior in numbers, but that was their only advantage. The storming party, animated by the example of their gallant leader, already counted on victory. For a time the event seemed doubtful; the enemy, driven to their last corner, offered an obstinate resistance. A ball cut the chain of Lieutenant Kerr’s helmet, another hit his sword-blade with such force that it turned the edge. The faithful Gumpunt Row, though wounded in the foot, never quitted his master’s side; at one moment, when his life was exposed to imminent danger, he shot the assailant dead. Another mutineer rushed up and discharged his musket so close to Lieutenant Kerr’s face that for an instant he was blinded by the powder. It was only for a moment, and as soon as he recovered his sight he ran his sword through the body of his adversary with such force that it required a violent effort to withdraw it. While he was struggling to do so, one of the enemy, watching his opportunity, rushed up and struck him a violent blow with the butt-end of a musket. Such a blow would have placed a less powerful man _hors de combat_; as it was, Lieutenant Kerr staggered beneath it and almost lost his consciousness. Another rebel, observing his helpless condition, ran forward to dispatch him, but Gumpunt Row, watching over his master’s safety, was ready to receive him. A bullet from his musket stretched him lifeless on the ground. Lieutenant Kerr, instantly recovering himself, killed a second. Assailants and defendants were now enveloped in such a cloud of smoke that it was difficult to distinguish one another or to mark the various incidents of the contest, which raged with the greatest fury. Lieutenant Kerr, though severely wounded, pressed the advantage he had gained by driving the enemy before him; he knew that all depended upon his example