During all this struggle the city lay calm and undisturbed. Clouds of smoke again rose near the base of the pagoda, and on the North-west a village was on fire. Trains crossed the railway bridge and steamed into the station or Northward across the plain. On the flats East of the town and close to the river, Russian infantry and cavalry still guarded the approach from Am-ping. It was clear that the enemy expected some movement in that direction, for in the afternoon a battery of field guns with a force of cavalry and riflemen made a reconnaisance toward the road. Advancing cautiously in two files the cavalry appeared on the bank of the river and drew rein; the guns took position among the trees near a village, and the infantry halted behind. But nothing could be discovered to arouse suspicion, and presently they returned. Had they been better informed they might have been bolder, for the hills were held by a few military _attachés_ and foreign correspondents, and in the ravines were only some strong picquets. But they were content with searching our mountain with shrapnel, and driving us from the sky line, where we had no business. As the shadows lengthened, the cannonade, which had been desultory and comparatively feeble in the earlier hours, burst forth with violence. Chapter XXIX CAPTURE OF LIAO-YANG. The supreme moment was at hand. Thousands who lay down to rest in the trenches were destined never again to look on the face of the sun. The night was clear and no sound of strife broke the stillness. Worn out with fatigue and excitement and exposure, the soldier slept with rifle at his side. A truce had been proclaimed--the truce of the night--and darkness shrouded the dead. It was the profound calm that heralds the storm. Already preparations were being made for the great assault that was to drive the enemy from his position before Liao-yang. Engineers were at work removing obstacles with which the Russians had strewn the path. Their efforts were directed especially to the hill in front of the village named Shyaoyansui--the low hill with three broad crests and a gentle slope from the South. Three or four hundred yards from the foot of this slope ran a triple line of _trous de loups_ or circular pits ten feet deep with a sharp stake in the middle of each pit. Nearly a mile long, the line of defensive works was broken at intervals to afford passage to the Russians. In these gaps were barbed wire entanglements and _chevaux de frise_, and behind them were trenches held by riflemen, while in front were mines. At the foot of the hill were other wire entanglements, and on the top of the incline, commanding every yard of approach, ran a deep trench with a shallow trench immediately behind. Along the summit were two lines of trenches, traversed at right angles, and on the ridge beyond were emplacements for guns. A stronger and more difficult position could not be imagined