The Cavalry at Santiago 135 



water canteen where he could get at it, which I did ; 

 he ultimately recovered. There was no use going 

 on with the remaining three men, and I bade them 

 stay where they were while I went back and brought 

 up the rest of the brigade. This was a decidedly 

 cool request, for there was really no possible point 

 in letting them stay there while I went back ; but at 

 the moment it seemed perfectly natural to me, and 

 apparently so to them, for they cheerfully nodded, 

 and sat down in the grass, firing back at the line of 

 trenches from which the Spaniards were shooting 

 at them. Meanwhile, I ran back, jumped over the 

 wire fence, and went over the crest of the hill, filled 

 with anger against the troopers, and especially those 

 of my own regiment, for not having accompanied 

 me. They, of course, were quite innocent of wrong- 

 doing; and even while I taunted them bitterly for 

 not having followed me, it was all I could do not 

 to smile at the look of injury and surprise that came 

 over their faces, while they cried out, "We didn't 

 hear you, we didn't see you go, Colonel; lead on 

 now, we'll sure follow you." I wanted the other 

 regiments to come, too, so I ran down to where 

 General Sumner was and asked him if I might make 

 the charge ; and he told me to go and that he would 

 see that the men followed. By this time everybody 

 had his attention attracted, and when I leaped over 

 the fence again, with Major Jenkins beside me, the 



