"Third, and not one from us," muttered Roy, as he hurried up the stairway to reach the platform at the top, and found Ben Martlet and the troop-corporal from his father's regiment, each busy with one of the guns, arranging wedges under the breeches, and assisted by the men told off to work each piece, while two more now came to the turret door-way, bearing fresh charges ready when wanted. Ben looked up and smiled grimly as Roy appeared, and the boy cried, excitedly-- "Three shots from them, and you doing nothing." _Rush_!--_Boom_! Roy ducked down his head, for the rushing noise seemed to be close over him; and as he raised it again, flushing with shame and glancing sharply round to see what impression his flinching had made on the men around, Ben said, quietly-- "Four, sir; and you see on'y one hit us; the earthwork has thrown all the others upward. That last one was nigh to a hundred foot overhead." "A hundred feet! and I flinched," thought Roy. "But why don't you fire?" he cried, aloud. "Thought I'd wait for you, sir, and that you'd like the first shot." "Yes, of course," cried the boy, excitedly. "And we haven't wasted time, sir; corp'ral and me's been pretty busy, getting what we thinks about the right depression of the muzzles, for you see we're a good height up here. I don't know that we shall be right, but we can soon get the range; and if you'll begin now, sir, I'd like you to try my gun first." "Ready!" cried Roy, whose heart began to thump heavily. "Like to take a squint along her, sir, first?" said Ben. "No; I'll trust to your aim." "Then, stand fast there!" cried Ben; and taking the port-fire from the man who held it, he presented it to the young castellan, who glanced at the earthwork, where he could see men busy, and a couple of squadrons of troopers drawn up some distance back on either side; and then, setting his teeth hard, he let the sparkling fuse fall softly on the touch-hole of the gun. There was a flash, a great ball of smoke, the gun rushed backward, and the report seemed to stun Roy, whose ears rang, and a strange singing noise filled his head. Ben said a few words, and leaned over the battlement, sheltering his eyes to watch the effect of the shot, as the smoke rose and began to spread. Then he turned and shouted something; but what it was Roy could not hear, neither could he catch a word that was uttered by the trooper-corporal, though the movement of his lips suggested that he was speaking. "Can't hear you," shouted Roy, as loudly as he could; and the man smiled, and pointed to the port-fire and the second gun. That was clear enough to understand; so Roy took a couple of steps towards the breech, and as the men stood drawn up in regular form on either side, he once more touched the priming.