The charge was irresistible. The French were hurled over the crest and
went down the hill, carrying confusion and dismay among those climbing up.
The Portuguese pressed them hotly, giving them no time to rally, and
forcing them down to the bottom of the hill without a check. Then at the
signal they fell back to the post that they had held at the beginning of
the fight. The success was equal on both hillsides, and the regiments
cheered each other's victory with shouts which rose high above the roar of
musketry. With their usual discipline, the French speedily rallied, in
spite of the heavy fire that from both sides swept their ranks, and they
prepared, when joined by another regiment which was approaching at the
double to their assistance, to renew the assault.
Terence saw that, this time, the odds would be too great to withstand. His
horn sounded the retreat, and the Portuguese turned to make their way up
the hill just as a French battery opened fire. Sheltered among the rocks,
the infantry below were unconscious of the movement, for on either side a
company had been left to continue their fire until the main body gained
the top of the hill, when they too were summoned by the horns to fall
back. The wounded had been all taken up the hill, and were laid in
blankets and carried off by their comrades.
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