All those whom Jean-Claude Hullin had named assembled under the shed
of the sawpit around the immense hearth. A sort of pleased good-humour
beamed in the faces of these brave men.
"For twenty years have I heard talk of the Russians, the Austrians, and
the Cossacks," said old Materne, with a smile; "and now I shall not be
sorry to see a few of them within range of my gun; that will be quite
another thing."
"Yes," replied Labarbe; "we shall see some strange things; the little
children of the mountain will be able to relate stories of their
fathers and grandfathers, and the old women, won't they tell legends
round the fire in fifty years to come?"
"Comrades," said Hullin, "you know all the country round; you have
the mountain under your eyes from Thann to Wissembourg. You know that
two highways, two imperial roads, cross Alsace and the Vosges. They
both come from Bâle; one follows the course of the Rhine as far as
Strasbourg, from whence it proceeds along the borders of the Saverne
till it reaches Lorraine. It is protected by Huningen, Neuf-Brisach,
Strasbourg, and Phalsbourg. The other turns to the left, and goes as
far as Schlestadt; from Schlestadt it enters the mountain, and reaches
Saint-Dié, Raon-l'Etape, Bacarat, and Lunéville. At first the enemy
wanted to force these two roads, as being better for the cavalry,
artillery, and baggage; but as they are defended, we have nothing to
fear on that head. If the Allies besiege the strong places--which will
lengthen out the campaign--then we shall have nothing to fear; but that
is not very probable. After having summoned Huningen to surrender,
Belfort, Schlestadt, Strasbourg, and Phalsbourg, on this side of the
Vosges; Bitche, Lutzelstein, and Sarrebrück on the other, I think they
will fall upon us. Now, listen to me well. Between Phalsbourg and
Saint-Dié there are several defiles for the infantry; but there is only
one road available for cannon; that is the road from Strasbourg to
Raon-les-Leaux by Urmatt, Mutzig, Lutzelhouse, Phramond, Grandfontaine.
Once masters of this passage, the Allies could come down upon Lorraine.
This road leads to the Donon, two leagues from here on our right. The
first thing to do is to establish ourselves firmly there in the spot
most favourable to the defence--that is to say, on the sides of the
mountain; to intersect it, to break down the bridges, and to throw
strong barricades across it. A few hundred strong trees laid across
a road with all their branches are as good as ramparts. They serve,
too, for the best ambuscades, as you are well sheltered, and can see
all that is going on. Those big trees are the very devil! you have to
cut them down bit to bit; you cannot throw bridges over them; in fact,
there's nothing better. All this, comrades, will be done by to-morrow
evening, or the day after at latest. I will undertake that; but it
is not enough to occupy a position, and put it in a good state of
defence; we must still further manage that the enemy cannot turn it."
"Just what I was thinking," said Materne. "Once in the valley of the
Bruche, the Germans can enter with the infantry among the hills of
Haslach, and turn our left. Nothing can prevent their trying the same
manoeuvre on our right, if they succeed in reaching Raon-l'Etape."
"Yes; but to prevent that, we have one very simple thing to do; that
is, to occupy the defiles of the Zorn and the Sarre on our left, and
that of the Blanru on our right. The best way to guard a defile is by
holding the heights; Piorette will, therefore, station himself with a
hundred men on the side of Raon-les-Leaux; Jerôme, on the Grosmann,
with a like number, to defend the valley of the Sarre; and Labarbe, at
the head of the rest, to overlook the hills of the Haslach. You will
choose your men from among those of the nearest villages. The women
must not have far to go to bring provisions, and then the wounded
will be nearer home, which must be thought of, too. This is, for the
present, all I have to say to you. The leaders will be careful to send
to me every day to the Donon, where I am going to establish this very
evening our head-quarters, a good walker, to inform me of all that is
going on, and receive the password. We will organize also a reserve;
but, as we must make the greatest haste, we will talk of that when you
have all taken up your positions, and when there is no longer any fear
of surprise on the part of the enemy."
"And I," exclaimed Marc Divès; "I shall have nothing to do, then? I am
to remain with my arms folded looking at the others fighting?"
"For you, your duty will be to overlook the transport of the
ammunition; none of us understand like you managing powder, preserving
it from fire and damp, casting bullets, and making cartridges."
"But all that is woman's work," exclaimed the smuggler; "Hexe-Baizel
would do it as well as me. What! am I not to fire a single shot?"
"Be easy, Marc," replied Hullin, with a laugh; "you will not want
for opportunities. In the first place, the Falkenstein is the centre
of our line--it is our arsenal, and our point of retreat in case of
misfortune. The enemy will know, through his spies, that our convoys
set out from thence; he will probably attempt to intercept them. You
will have enough of bullets, and bayonets, too. Besides, even if you
are under shelter, so much the better, for it would not do to confide
your caves to the first comer. Still, if you really wish----"
"No," said the smuggler, who had been struck by Hullin's remark about
his caves; "no; all things well considered, I believe you are right,
Jean-Claude. I have my men; they are well armed. We will defend the
Falkenstein, and if an opportunity of firing a shot offers I shall be
more free."
"Then this matter is arranged, and we all understand?" asked Hullin.
"Yes, yes; we understand."
"Well, comrades," exclaimed the brave man, in a joyful accent, "let us
warm our hearts with a few good glasses of wine. It is ten o'clock,
so let everyone return to his village, and make his preparations.
To-morrow morning, at the latest, all the defiles of the mountain must
be strongly occupied."
They then came out of the shed, and Hullin, in presence of all, named
as leaders Labarbe, Jerôme, and Piorette; he then told all those of the
Sarre to assemble as soon as possible near the farm of Bois-de-Chênes
with hatchets, pickaxes, and guns. "We will set out at two o'clock,"
said he, "and we will encamp on the Donon along the road. To-morrow, at
daybreak, we will begin our entrenchments."
He detained old Materne and his sons Frantz and Kasper, to announce to
them that the battle would doubtless commence at the Donon, and that
they should, therefore, need some good marksmen in that part, at which
they were greatly pleased.
Dame Lefévre had never appeared happier. As she got up again into her
cart, she embraced Louise, and whispered in her ear: "All is going
well. Jean-Claude is a man; he sees everything; he carries everyone
along with him. Even me, who have known him for forty years, he
astonishes me."
Then turning to him: "Jean-Claude," said she, "we have a ham waiting
for us at home, and a few bottles of old wine, that we'll not leave for
the Germans to drink."
"No, Catherine; they shall not drink them. Come on."
But just as she was flourishing her whip, and as a goodly number of
mountaineers were ascending the steep sides of the mountain on their
way back to their respective villages, there was seen approaching,
in the extreme distance, a tall, thin man sitting in his goat-skin
saddle, a hare-skin cap on his head, which he held erect. An enormous
long-haired sheep-dog came bounding along by his side, and the flaps
of his immense riding-coat flew behind him like wings. Everyone
exclaimed: "It is Doctor Lorquin of the plain; he who attends the poor
gratis. Here he comes, with his dog Pluto; ah! he is a worthy man!"
It was indeed he; he came galloping along, shouting at the top of his
voice, "Halt! stop! halt!" and with his face as red as fire, his big
eyes sparkling with excitement, his long beard of a reddish brown,
his broad stooping shoulders, and his great bounding sheep-dog, he
came along at a swinging pace. In two more minutes he had reached the
foot of the mountain, crossed the meadow, and brought up in front of
the shed. Immediately after a voice, panting for breath, was heard to
say, "Ah! how deaf you all are! and the idea of going on a campaign
without me! You shall pay for it!" touching a little chest, which he
was carrying behind him, "Stay a minute, my lads," said he; "I've
something in there that you can't very well do without. I have in there
little knives and large ones, round and sharp ones, for digging out the
bullets, and shot of all sorts, that you will be peppered with." And
then he burst into a loud peal of laughter, and all the spectators felt
their flesh creep.
Having given utterance to this agreeable pleasantry, Doctor Lorquin
resumed, in a graver tone, "Hullin, I must pull your ears for you.
What! forget me, when the point in question was the defence of our
country! Suffer me to be informed of it by others! And yet it seems to
me that a doctor will be in requisition here, I must blame you."
"Forgive me, doctor; I have been in the wrong," said Hullin, warmly
pressing his hand. "During the last week so many things have happened.
You cannot always think of everybody; and, besides, a man like you does
not require to be warned of his duty to fulfil it."
The doctor's brow relaxed. "All this is very well, and very good," he
exclaimed; "but that does not alter the fact that, by your neglect,
I might have arrived too late. All the good places are taken, the
crosses distributed. Come, lead me to the general, that I may prefer my
complaint to him."
"I am the general, and I appoint you surgeon-in-chief to the forces."
"Surgeon-in-chief to the forces of the Vosges! Well, that will suit me.
No malice, Jean-Claude." Then, approaching the cart, the worthy man
told Catherine that he should depend upon her for the organization of
the _ambulances_.
"Make your mind easy, doctor," replied the farm-mistress; "all shall
be ready. Louise and I will make that our special care from this very
evening; will we not, Louise?"
"Oh, yes! Mother Lefévre," murmured the young girl, enchanted to see
that they had actually commenced the campaign; "we will work hard, day
and night, if needs be. M. Lorquin may make his mind quite easy."
"Well, then, forward! You dine with us, doctor."
The little cart set out at full trot; all along the road, the good
doctor laughingly recounted to Catherine how the news of the general
rising had reached him; the despair of his old housekeeper, Marie, who
strove hard to prevent his going to be massacred by the _kaiserlicks_;
in short, the different episodes of his journey from Quibolo to the
village of Charmes. Hullin, Materne, and his boys walked a few steps
behind, with gun on shoulder, and in this way they ascended the
mountain, and directed their steps towards the farm of Bois-de-Chênes.
[Illustration]