The result was the same in all cases. A chasseur would detach from the squadron and canter toward the terrified man. The saber would rise, the horseman would lean gracefully into the task and at the right moment would slash down, slicing blood and bone like a butcher’s cleaver — a brief death cry, and on the road would be another untidy huddle.
One brave soul tried to make a stand: he swung round to face the enemy, aiming his musket at the horseman. The chasseur rode at him, bending low over the horse’s mane, his pennon held in pig-sticking fashion. The musket puffed smoke, but the bullet went wide. Instantly, Kydd saw the bloody spike of the lance emerge from the soldier’s back. There was a tearing shriek as the impaled man was forcibly rotated on the ground to allow the weapon to be withdrawn by the chasseur as he cantered past.
One man at the extremity of exhaustion was only yards away. He staggered and swayed toward them, his eyes coal pits of terror, his mouth working. “God’s mercy, let me in! For the love of Christ — ” He could hear the thunder of hooves behind him and began blubbering and screaming.
The marines held firm, not a man moved to open the ranks. If the cavalry got inside the square it was the finish — very quickly.
“Open up, open up — let the poor fucker in!” sailors cried out.
“Still!” roared Tyrell, from the center of the men.
Casually, a lone rider turned and began his run, deliberate and measured. At its culmination the saber lifted and fell, slicing through hands pitifully trying to fend off the inevitable. The man’s skull split like a melon and cascaded blood and brains.
A cry of rage broke from the seamen. “Fire at ’im, yer bastards! Get ’im!”
The marines, however, would not be drawn. The muskets would wait for the main charge, which must surely come.
Out of range, the squadron eddied and weaved, assembling for the charge. One of their number slashed at his horse’s side and urged it ahead. The others followed at a brisk trot, heading straight for the unmoving square. Kydd could see the sun-darkened features of the horsemen, concentrating on their target, foreign, disturbing, frightening. The canter turned into a gallop, then a race, a full-blooded charge.
Kydd looked at the stolid faces of the marines, searching for some kind of reassurance.
“Steady, you men!” Dawkins called, voice cool and composed.
“Present …” The muskets rose and settled on aim.
The horses pounded nearer, nearer.
“Front rank — wait for it — front rank, fire!”
The muskets crashed out and the smoke rolled forward, hiding the horsemen, before it rose slowly, showing the riders considerably nearer, but also empty saddles. The muskets slammed on the ground and inclined forward, the bayonets a formidable barrier.
The horses pounded on.
“Center rank — fire!”
Again the crash of muskets, more smoke, but Kydd could see what the closer range told. One face dissolved into blood, the man swaying and falling, bringing down his horse. Another folded over and was left draped forward over the speeding horse’s mane.
From this distance the expressions of the horsemen were clear#8212;snarls, determination and, in more than one case, apprehension. And then they were upon the rigid square.
At the last possible moment reins were hauled over and the riders streamed past on each side. Unable to break up the square by sheer terror, they in turn made easy targets as the foam-flecked horses thundered past and more riders fell.
They turned and regrouped, some of the horses nervous, plunging and stamping. Again they came, but their high spirits had left them. It was a halfhearted performance, and afterward they turned and galloped back over the hill.
The seamen cheered to a man. Unused to doing nothing in action, they had found the experience daunting, and boisterously gave vent to their fears.
“Good thing there are no field pieces,” the lieutenant of marines told Tyrell coolly. “A square cannot stand against a six-pound ball.”
Nearby a cavalryman, wounded in the leg, crawled away on all fours.
An insane howl broke out, and a private of the 93rd burst out of the square and limped across to the wounded man. He shouted hoarsely, beast-like. The Frenchman stopped and looked back. He tried to stand, but fell again. As he sprawled he tugged at his saber, but it was trapped under his body. His movements grew agitated and at the last minute he fell on his back and his arms went up.
With what looked like a tenting tool the private fell upon the horse man, hacking and gouging frantically. Inhuman shrieks came from the writhing figure, helpless under the onslaught.
The bloodied instrument rose and fell in savage chops. There was no more movement. Still the butchery continued, but finally the man fell across the body, weeping.