As the Allies neared the south gate, they found that the bridge had been destroyed, and the fields flooded with water. On they went, however, through the liquid mud, almost up to the great gate. But the aim of the Chinese was deadly, and scores of soldiers dropped in a very few minutes. The Allies could not keep the ground they had gained, and fell back to the intrenchments which had first given them shelter. The sun was blazing down hotly; and, when that first rush was over, Gilbert was almost ready to drop with exhaustion. But there was no rest for anybody, for the various commanders realized that it was “now or never”; for, if the native city was not taken, the Chinese troops on the western plain would pour in on them, and they would be cut off from all help. Colonel Liscum of the Ninth United States Infantry was everywhere along the line, cheering and encouraging his men. “We must win out,” he is reported to have said. “They cannot stand up against us much longer.” The ground was very uncertain, and the whistling of the bullets incessant. The Americans were still in full view of the enemy, and men were dropping on every side. Some distance from the mud wall were a number of native houses; and from these came a galling cross-fire, which presently laid the color-bearer low. “The flag is down!” was the cry from several throats; but, in a moment, Colonel Liscum ran forward and picked it up. Flag in hand, he started to look for a suitable ford over the canal which ran through the marshland. “Better get down, or they’ll hit you!” shouted one of the under officers. “I guess not,” was the brave colonel’s answer; and at that instant a Chinese bullet struck him in the abdomen. “Are you hit?” asked an officer, who saw him stagger back. “I’ve got it,” was the feeble reply; and then Colonel Liscum fell, to rise no more. A score of soldiers rushed to his aid. But nothing could be done for the sufferer; and with these words, “Don’t retreat, boys. Keep on firing,” he breathed his last. Several other officers were also shot down and many wounded, while the dead privates lay everywhere. Yet the battle waged on, until the men became almost too tired to move. All were thirsting for something to drink; but the only water at hand was that of the marshes, salty and filled with the corpses of the slain. The doctors could not attend to the wounded, for they were shot as soon as they exposed themselves. “This is certainly the worst yet,” was Gilbert’s comment to Captain Banner. The young lieutenant was soaked to the skin, both with water and with perspiration; and his face was covered with the grime of battle. He had been in two advances, and there were bullet-holes through his coat-sleeve and his leggins. “I never saw anything like it in the Philippines.”