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"They’ve made it," he whispered, and his fists curled in an exciteh, and the uard post at the top of the cliff Silence, bar the everlasting noise of tree and river And then a shot

Just one Thefor what

Were there sounds above? Grey could not tell and, out of sheer nervousness, turned aside to urinate against the side of the cliff He was fastening his flies when he heard Simon Fraser’s voice above

"Got ’e enough!"

The next few hours passed in a blur of the most arduous endeavor Grey had seen since he’d crossed the Scottish Highlands with his brother’s regiht, as he stood in darkness, one leg wedged between a tree and the rock face, thirty feet of invisible space below hiht of two hundred pounds or so on the end, this orse

The Highlanders had surprised the guard, shot their fleeing captain in the heel, and made all of the was for the rest of the landing party to ascend to the cliff top, now that the trail--if there was such a thing--had been cleared There they would make preparations to raise not only the rest of the troops now co down the river aboard the transports but also seventeen battering cannon, twelve howitzers, three mortars, and all of the necessary encumbrances in terms of shell, powder, planks, and limbers necessary to make this artillery effective At least, Grey reflected, by the time they were done, the vertical trail up the cliffside would likely have been trahtened, Grey looked up for a moment from his spot at the top of the cliff, where he was now overseeing the last of the artillery as it was heaved over the edge, and saw the bateaux co crossed the river to collect an additional 1,200 troops that Wolfe had directed to march to Levi on the opposite shore, there to lie hidden in the woods until the Highlanders’ expedient should have been proved

A head, cursing freely, surged up over the edge of the cliff Its attendant body lunged into view, tripped, and sprawled at Grey’s feet

"Sergeant Cutter!" Grey said, grinning as he bent to yank the little sergeant to his feet "Come to join the party, have you?"

"Jesus fuck," replied the sergeant, belligerently brushing dirt from his coat "We’d best win, that’s all I can say" And, without waiting for reply, he turned round to bellon the cliff, "Come ON, you bloody rascals! ’Ave you all eaten lead for breakfast, then? Shit it out and step lively! CLIMB, God da that, as dawn spread its golden glow across the Plains of Abrahaaped in disbelief at the sight of more than four thousand British troops drawn up in battle array before theh his telescope, Grey could see the sentries The distance was too great to make out their facial expressions, but their attitudes of alar one French officer clutch his head briefly, then wave his ar his subordinates rushing off in all directions

Wolfe was standing on a s air Grey thought he probably considered his pose noble and coer; the air of alert eagerness was the saht, skinned hands, battered shins, twisted knees and ankles, and a lack of food and sleep, a gleeful exciteht they were all giddy with fatigue

The sound of dru hastily to quarters Withinaway fro to rally whatever troops Montcal of the belly at the sight

The matter hadn’t really been in doubt; it was Septe on The town and fortress had been unable to provision the to Wolfe’s scorched-earth policies The French were there, the English before them--and the simple fact, apparent to both sides, was that the French would starve long before the English did Montcalht canteens of water, some a little food They were allowed to relax sufficiently to eat, to ease their h none of the before the fortress E his telescope further, Grey could see that, while the , they were by no means all trained troops; Montcalm had called his militias from the countryside--farmers, fishermen, and coureurs du bois, by the look of them--and his Indians Grey eyed the painted faces and oiled topknots warily, but his acquaintance with Manoke had deprived the Indians ofaspect--and they would not be nearly so effective on open ground, against cannon, as they were sneaking through the forest

It took surprisingly little tiht be The sun was no an their advance

"HOLD your fucking fire, you villains! Fire before you’re ordered, and I’ll give your fuckin’ heads to the artillery to use for cannonballs!" He heard the uneant Aloysius Cutter, so echoed, if less picturesquely, through the British lines, and if every officer on the field had one eye firmly on the French, the other was fixed on General Wolfe, standing on his hillock, aflame with anticipation

Grey felt his blood twitch andto ease a cra French line stopped, knelt, and fired a volley Another fro behind them Too far, much too far to have any effect A deep rury

Grey’s hand had been on his dagger for so long that the rapped hilt had left its iers His other hand was clenched upon a saber He had no coather the eyes of hisHe shook his shoulders to loosen theh this time that several British soldiers in the front lines fell, knocked down by musket fire

"Hold, hold!" The order rattled down the lines like gunfire The brient above the scent of powder smoke; the artillerymen held their fire, as well

French cannon fired, and balls bounced murderously across the field, but they seee they did How many French? he wondered Perhaps twice as many, but it didn’t matter It wouldn’t matter

Sweat ran down his face, and he rubbed a sleeve across to clear his eyes

"Hold!"

Closer, closer Many of the Indians were on horseback; he could see the…

"Hold!"

Wolfe’s arm rose slowly, sword in hand, and the arrenadiers were next to him, solid in their companies, wrapped in sulfurous sers," the"Co over the field, lohite clouds Forty paces Effective range

"Don’t fire, don’t fire, don’t fire …" soainst panic

Through the British lines, sun glinted on the rising swords, the officers echoing Wolfe’s order

"Hold … hold …"