The Man From Glengarry | Page 9

himself free and sprang
back to the Glengarry line at the wall.
"Mac an' Diabboil," he roared, "Glengarry forever!"
"Glengarry!" yelled the four Highlanders beside him, wild with the
delight of battle. It was a plain necessity, and they went into it with free
consciences and happy hearts.
"Let me at him," cried Murphy, struggling past LeNoir towards
Macdonald.
"Non! He is to me!" yelled LeNoir, dancing in front of Macdonald.
"Here, Murphy," called out Yankee, obligingly, "help yourself this
way." Murphy dashed at him, but Yankee's long arm shot out to meet
him, and Murphy again found the floor.
"Come on, boys," cried Pat Murphy, Dan's brother, and followed by
half a dozen others, he flung himself at Yankee and the line of men
standing up against the wall. But Yankee's arms flashed out once, twice,
thrice, and Pat Murphy fell back over his brother; two others staggered
across and checked the oncoming rush, while Dannie Ross and big
Mack Cameron had each beaten back their man, and the Glengarry line
stood unbroken. Man for man they were far more than a match for their
opponents, and standing shoulder to shoulder, with their backs to the
wall, they taunted Murphy and his gang with all the wealth of gibes and
oaths at their command.

"Where's the rest of your outfit, Murphy?" drawled Yankee. "Don't
seem's if you'd counted right."
"It is a cold day for the parley voos," laughed Big Mack Cameron.
"Come up, lads, and take a taste of something hot."
Then the Murphy men, clearing away the fallen, rushed again. They
strove to bring the Highlanders to a clinch, but Yankee's voice was high
and clear in command.
"Keep the line, boys! Don't let 'em draw you!" And the Glengarry men
waited till they could strike, and when they struck men went down and
were pulled back by their friends.
"Intil them, bhoys!" yelled Dan Murphy, keeping out of range himself.
"Intil the divils!" And again and again his men crowded down upon the
line against the wall, but again and again they were beaten down or
hurled back bruised and bleeding.
Meantime LeNoir was devoting himself to Black Hugh at one end of
the line, dancing in upon him and away again, but without much result.
Black Hugh refused to be drawn out, and fought warily on defense,
knowing the odds were great and waiting his chance to deliver one
good blow, which was all he asked.
The Glengarry men were enjoying themselves hugely, and when not
shouting their battle-cry, "Glengarry forever!" or taunting their foes,
they were joking each other on the fortunes of war. Big Mack Cameron,
who held the center, drew most of the sallies. He was easy-tempered
and good-natured, and took his knocks with the utmost good humor.
"That was a good one, Mack," said Dannie Ross, his special chum, as a
sounding whack came in on Big Mack's face. "As true as death I will be
telling it to Bella Peter. Bella, the daughter of Peter McGregor, was
supposed to be dear to Big Mack's heart.
"What a peety she could not see him the now," said Finlay Campbell.
"Man alive, she would say the word queeck!"

"'Tis more than she will do to you whatever, if you cannot keep off that
crapeau yonder a little better," said Big Mack, reaching for a
Frenchman who kept dodging in upon him with annoying persistence.
Then Mack began to swear Gaelic oaths.
'Tain't fair, Mack!" called out Yankee from his end of the line, "bad
language in English is bad enough, but in Gaelic it must be uncommon
rough." So they gibed each other. But the tactics of the enemy were
exceedingly irritating, and were beginning to tell upon the tempers of
the Highlanders.
"Come to me, ye cowardly little devil," roared Mack to his persisting
assailant. "No one will hurt you! Come away, man! A-a-ah-ouch!" His
cry of satisfaction at having grabbed his man ended in a howl of pain,
for the Frenchman had got Mack's thumb between his teeth, and was
chewing it vigorously.
"Ye would, would you, ye dog?" roared Big Mack. He closed his
fingers into the Frenchman's gullet, and drew him up to strike, but on
every side hands reached for him and stayed his blow. Then he lost
himself. With a yell of rage he jambed his man back into the crowd,
sinking his fingers deeper and deeper into his enemy's throat till his
face grew black and his head fell over on one side. But it was a fatal
move for Mack, and overcome by numbers that crowded upon him, he
went down fighting wildly and bearing the Frenchman beneath him.
The Glengarry line was broken. Black Hugh saw Mack's peril, and
knew that it meant destruction to