THE BATTLE CONTINUES.
Hal, Chester and Colonel Anderson had watched the battle with the eyes of
veterans; Stubbs had taken in the scene with the eye of a newspaper man
in the search of news. Nikol, the dwarf, had gazed at the struggling knot
of horsemen in undisguised amazement.
As the Austrians, defeated, had withdrawn, each had drawn a deep breath.
"A terrible spectacle, when you stop to think of it," said Hal slowly.
"Terrible, indeed," agreed Colonel Anderson quietly; "and yet it must
go on and on until the power of the Teuton allies has been crushed
out forever."
"Which it will be," said Chester quietly.
All turned their eyes to the battlefield once more.
Even from where they stood they could discern a sudden activity in the
Austrian lines. The action of the big field pieces became more vigorous
than before. Hal, Chester and Colonel Anderson guessed the answer
immediately, as, probably, did the officers of King Nicholas' forces.
The next Austrian move was to be a grand assault under cover of artillery
fire. The problem to be solved was where it would be delivered--in the
center, on the right, or on the left flank.
For a brief instant Hal turned his eyes from the battlefield to the place
where King Nicholas and his staff stood. Officers were arriving and
departing in haste, carrying orders to the various commanders.
The fire of the Montenegrin guns also became more violent; but it was
evident that the Montenegrin staff had decided to take no action until
they were confident of just where the Austrians would strike.
The noise of the cannonading was tremendous. It was like the continual
roar of the loudest peal of thunder. The very ground trembled from the
vibrations of the big guns.
From the Austrian trenches now poured thousands of men at the
double--poured in dense masses toward the Montenegrin center, the while
the Austrian artillery shelled the Montenegrin center with greater energy
than at any time since the battle began.
Apparently the enemy had determined upon the Montenegrin center as the
objective of its grand assault.
In the open field, a small plateau, the Austrians reformed coolly, in
spite of the death-dealing fire from the Montenegrin lines. The field was
packed closely with the enemy, now less than half a mile away.
At this distance the fire of the Montenegrin artillery was terribly
effective, but the Austrian line did not waver.
Steadily forward it came; and now the Montenegrins moved to meet the
attack. Apparently satisfied that there was no question that the center
was to be the main objective of the enemy, the Montenegrin staff ordered
the bulk of the Balkan army massed there to beat back the foe.
Regiments and brigades were hurriedly drawn from the two flanks to
reinforce the center. The left wing was weakened badly.
A quarter of a mile from the first Montenegrin trench the Austrians
charged fiercely. All eyes were turned to that section of the field. The
shock was but a few moments away.
At that moment--almost the moment of impact--a second line of men issued
from the Austrian, trenches, this time on the Montenegrin left wing.
These, too, supported by artillery and strong bodies of cavalry, came
forward in a charge.
It seemed the Austrian commander had outgeneraled the Montenegrins, for
it did not seem possible that the Montenegrin left flank could be
reinforced in time to successfully withstand the shock of the Austrian
attack, and there could be no doubt now that the left flank was where the
main attack would be delivered.
The assault upon the center had been a feint--nothing more. The main
bodies of Austrians were to be hurled against the Montenegrin left, in an
effort to turn it before reinforcements could be hurried from the right
flank to support the threatened center and left.
But King Nicholas, taking matters in his own hands, acted quickly. In
spite of the protests of his officers, he ordered the reinforcements so
recently massed in his center back to strengthen his left; then ordered
that the center hold firm at all hazards and against all numbers.
He hurried reinforcements from his right to support his center, and
having taken these precautions, he was ready to give battle.
The Austrian attacking force and the Montenegrin center had come in
contact long before the king had made his other moves, but there was no
doubt in Nicholas' mind that his sturdy mountaineers could hold their
trenches against larger numbers of the enemy.
One, two, three times the Austrians charged the trenches in the
Montenegrin center. Three times they were driven back with terrible
losses. The Montenegrins, in the shelter of their trenches, fought
stubbornly and tenaciously. Once the first line of Austrians
succeeded in obtaining a foothold in the first trench and
hand-to-hand fighting ensued.
At this style of fighting the Austrians were no match for the sturdy
Balkan warriors, and they were soon forced out again.
Meanwhile the Austrian main attack had come in contact with the
Montenegrin left wing. Outnumbered two to one, sometimes more, the
defenders fought gallantly. But the Austrians, by the very weight of
numbers, swooped down upon the defenders of the first line trenches in
spite of the heavy Montenegrin artillery fire.
The Montenegrins were forced to fall back to their second line; but they
contested every inch of ground and by the time they had been forced out,
reinforcements began to arrive. The second line of trenches held in spite
of all attempts of the enemy to force them.
Reinforcements continued to arrive.
The Austrian artillery had now slackened its fire perceptibly, for there
was danger of mowing down its own men.
King Nicholas decided upon a bold stroke. Secure in the fact that the
Austrian guns could not be used at the moment, and having every
confidence in his stalwart troops, in spite of the fact that they were
heavily outnumbered, King Nicholas ordered a charge.
A cheer went up along the Montenegrin line.
With bayonets fixed and every nerve tense, the Montenegrins poured
suddenly from their trenches. They charged like wild men.
The advantage of the surprise was theirs--the advantage of their
impetuous devotion to the cause they served; and the force of their
charge was irresistible. It carried all before it.
In vain the Austrian officers tried to rally their men. The sight of
these determined, grim-faced men pouring from their trenches bewildered
the Austrian troops. They gave ground, slowly at first, then more
swiftly; and five minutes later they were in full retreat, with the
Montenegrins in close pursuit.
Once the Austrian commander succeeded in reforming his men for a stand;
but the Montenegrins rushed on as though they could have carried the Rock
of Gibraltar itself, and again the Austrians broke and fled.
The Montenegrins pursued them for probably a quarter of a mile, cutting
them down and bayoneting them as they ran. Then the bugle sounded a
recall and the Montenegrins drew off.
It was then, too, that the great Austrian guns opened on them again,
doing fearful havoc. The Montenegrins suffered greater losses on their
return to their trenches than they had during the entire engagement up to
that time.
In the center, the battle was still raging; but now that he had been
victorious on his left, King Nicholas immediately hurled his weary men
to the support of his center. Also he drew upon his already weakened
right wing; for the advantage was his and he was determined to make the
most of it.
The Austrians fell back in the center.
Now the Montenegrins opened with their heavy artillery, which was rushed
forward to shell the retreating foe. Again King Nicholas ordered a charge
along his entire front.
With the present morale among the enemy, King Nicholas decided it was
time to push his advantage further. He had determined to drive the foe
from its own trenches.
The Montenegrins advanced confidently all along the line, pursuing the
Austrians closely in the center. Cavalry and infantry, under the
protection of the giant batteries, were hurled forward and dashed upon
the Austrians with ferocity.
Rapidly they covered the open distance to the first Austrian trenches and
leaped into them without thought of death. The Austrians, brought to bay
at last, fought desperately, but the Montenegrins, once having gained the
whip hand, were not to be denied.
The fighting in the Austrian trenches continued for what seemed an
eternity; but finally the Austrians broke and fled.
The Montenegrins, flushed with victory, advanced again, and under cover
of their artillery, stormed the enemy's second line trenches. These, too,
were won after a desperate struggle and heavy losses on both sides, and
with these the Montenegrins, worn and spent, rested content.
The troops were for pushing on after the Austrians, but King Nicholas
called a halt.
"My brave men!" he exclaimed, with tears in his eyes. "They have done a
day's work to-day that will live in memory for generations to come. It is
a brilliant victory."
The duel of heavy guns continued, but the infantry fighting was over for
the day. The Montenegrins, in their newly won trenches, fell to preparing
them to resist the attack that they knew would come sooner or later,
while the Austrians were taking account of their losses and making ready
for a new assault.
Stubbs laid a hand on Chester's arm.
"Didn't I tell you they looked like real fighters?" he exclaimed.
"Certainly, I have never seen better," returned the lad.
Stubbs turned to Nikol.
"Well, Nikol," said he, "what do you think of these fellows as fighters?"
Nikol eyed him in silence for several moments. But at last he spoke.
"Mr. Stubbs," he said quietly, "they are better fighters than you or I."