Willy was just at the point of clearing the steep wall of the ravine when Guevara, following some distance behind him, received a sudden blast of machine gun fire that wounded him in the leg. Willy turned around and went back down the cliff to where Guevara lay.[2] He picked him up and carried him to a location out of the direct line of fire.[3] However, the two guerrillas almost immediately found themselves surrounded by another group of rangers who opened fire against them; Guevara and Willy shot back at them until one of their bullets knocked Che's beret off his head and another disabled his M-2 carbine. Willy moved Guevara out of the line of fire again, then placed himself between his wounded leader and the rangers — who were now firing at them from a distance of less than ten yards — and began to return fire.