This was the portion of the guard room where the officer on
duty had loaded the guns for his execution, and from here they had
been taken and passed into the hands of the men. It did not require
much penetration on the part of the reprieved soldier to understand
now the reason why these twelve men had missed their aim!
Had they exercised the skill of Kentucky sharp-shooters they could
have done no harm; blank cartridges don't kill. But how unexpected,
how miraculous it appeared, how strange the sensations of the young
officer, after that loud sounding discharge, to find himself
standing thus unharmed,--no wound, no bullet whistling by his ears,
the dead, sluggish smoke alone enveloping his person for a moment,
and then, as it swept away seaward, the shout of the astonished
division rang upon his senses. He felt that all eyes were upon him,
and adamant itself could not have remained firmer than did he. Few
men would have possessed sufficient self-control to bear themselves
thus; but he was a soldier, and had often dared the bullet of the
enemy. He was familiar with the whistling of bullets, and other
sounds that carry on their wings the swift-borne messengers of
death.
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