Читать книгу The Story of a Peninsular Veteran. Sergeant in the Forty-Third Light Infantry, during the Peninsular War онлайн

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During the brief stay made here we experienced a remarkable escape from imminent danger. The lower corridors of the building were filled with the horses of the cavalry and artillery, so thickly stowed that it was scarcely possible for a single man to pass them, and there was but one entrance. Two officers returning from the bridge, being desirous to find shelter for their men, entered the convent, and with terror perceived that a large window-shutter was on fire. The flame was spreading to the rafter above; in a few moments the straw under the horses would ignite, and six thousand men and animals be involved in inevitable ruin. One of the officers (Captain Lloyd, of the 43rd), a man of great activity, strength, and presence of mind, made a sign to his companions to keep silence, and springing upon the nearest horse, ran along the backs of the others until he reached the flaming shutter, which he tore off its hinges and threw out of the window; then returning quickly, he awakened some of the soldiers, and cleared the passage without creating any alarm, which in such a case would have been as destructive as the flames. I scarcely need add that Captain Lloyd was a man of more than ordinary talent.