After traveling all night, the Barclays arrived at Tours at ten
o'clock, on the morning of the day after that upon which they had
left Belle Isle. At the station they said adieu to Monsieur
Teclier; who went at once to Gambetta, with the dispatches; while
the Barclays turned away to Colonel Tempe's lodgings and, to their
great surprise as well as delight, found him in.
The colonel gave quite a shout of joy, when he saw them.
"Ah, my brave boys, my brave boys, I am glad to see you," and he
took them in his arms, and kissed them as heartily and as earnestly
as if he had been their father.
"I am glad to see you," he repeated, wiping his eyes with his
handkerchief. "I was sure you would do it. I never really
doubted--I told Gambetta it was as good as done--but I could not
help being nervous, horribly nervous; and when the news came, five
days ago, by the balloon which left three days after you got in, I
almost lost my head. I laughed, I cheered, I shook everyone by the
hand--ma foi, I don't know what I did, I was so pleased.
"Your Irishman was the funniest thing. He was not surprised, or
pleased, or even interested. I explained to him over and over
again, thinking he did not understand; but he only shook his head
and said, in his strange English:
"'Sure, colonel, I never doubted them for a moment. Aren't they
clever enough to decaive the ould gintleman, himself? It was as
sartin as peas is peas that they would slip in, somehow; and if
they did get into a scrape, that they were the boys for getting
themselves out of it. It's the coming out I am afraid of.'
"I looked surprised, naturally enough, and he went on:
"'And doesn't your honor know that they are talking of coming out
in a balloon? Only to think of it, colonel, flying through the
clouds, shut up in a big ball of silk! It's just flying in the face
of Providence. What's the use of scheming, or of courage? You can't
decaive a cloud, though it's as aisy as dancing to take in a
German. When you tell me, colonel, that they're safe out of the
balloon; then I'll shout, as loud as you like.'
"Yesterday, when the telegram from Teclier came--saying that he had
fallen in Belle Isle, had had a narrow escape of being driven into
the sea, but had avoided that by running the risk of breaking his
neck--and mentioned that you were with him; and had, like himself,
escaped with a few bruises, Tim went nearly out of his mind with
joy. He has been cleaning his sword and accouterments, this
morning.
"I am off tomorrow, and you are only just come in time to see the
fighting.
"But you are looking ill, Percy; far too ill for service, just at
present."
"Yes, he has been very ill," Ralph said. "He had a touch of brain
fever, the night we got into Paris; and was delirious for two days.
He has picked up quickly, but that balloon descent was not the
thing for an invalid. The doctor in Paris ordered a month, at
least, of absolute rest; and has given him a sick certificate."
"He needs rest, certainly," Colonel Tempe said, "but he cannot go
home, at present. The Prussians hold Dijon in considerable
strength. There are far too many people in the town who have heard
of your connection with the franc tireurs. Some spy or other would
be certain to peach."
"Yes," Ralph assented, "we have been talking it over, and quite
agree that Percy could not go back as--although he would willingly
run the risk, himself--it would bring such serious consequences
upon them at home, if he were found there, that he has determined
to go down to Nice for a while, and rejoin as soon as he gains
strength again."
"Yes," Colonel Tempe said, "but above all things, do not let him be
in a hurry.
"You have gone through an immense deal, Percy; and have done a
great deal more than your share for France, and have gained great
honor and credit. Be content with that. You might ruin your
constitution for life, by further exertions."
"But about yourself colonel, where are you going?"
"I am starting, tomorrow, to join General Chanzy's staff."
"I have not heard his name before," Ralph said.
"He commands the Sixteenth Corps. He has not had much opportunity
yet, but he is a good soldier. If you like, Ralph, I will go with
you at once, to Freysinet, and get you attached with me."
"Thank you very much, colonel. I should like it of all things."
"Come along, then; Freysinet is in his office."
Percy accompanied them, to obtain a signature to his leave of
absence, and left next day for the south. An hour later, Colonel
Tempe and Ralph were in the train, upon their way to Orleans--Tim,
again in his hussar uniform, and half wild with delight--being,
with Colonel Tempe's orderly, in charge of the horses.
Colonel Tempe, as Ralph was not mounted, had offered to lend him
one of his own; but Ralph had refused it, unless the colonel would
sell it, as he said he should be always afraid of getting the
animal shot, unless it was his own. Seeing that Ralph was
determined upon this score, the colonel had reluctantly agreed to
take the sum he had paid for the horse. Ralph's only other purchase
in Tours was a fur greatcoat.
"And now, colonel," Ralph said, when the train had started, "we
have time to talk--tell me, what chances have we of success?"
"Between ourselves, Barclay," Colonel Tempe said, "I do not think that
our prospects are brilliant. In my opinion, Aurelles de Paladine--or
rather Gambetta, for it was he who ordered the advance--made an immense
mistake in attacking Von der Tann when he did. Of course, he drove him
back, and took Orleans; but what was the use of that? Absolutely nothing.
He was not strong enough to push his advantage; but the movement served
to draw the attention of the Germans to his force, and Prince Frederick
Charles--who was marching south from Metz--has been hurried towards
Orleans, and has now united his forces with those of Von der Tann and
the Duke of Mecklenburg; so that, although we have received large
reinforcements--for the whole of the army of the east is up, now--the
Germans have been equally reinforced, and are quite as strong as we are.
"We ought never to have attacked, until we were ready to follow up
our advantage at once. It was nothing short of madness; yet what
can you expect, with a civilian acting as commander-in-chief? I
believe that we shall make a tough fight of it, but I can hardly
hope that our new levies can prove a match for the veterans of
Frederick Charles."
"When do we begin, do you think?"
"In two or three days at latest. You have not seen a great battle
yet, Barclay."
"No," Ralph said, "nor shall I see much of it, now; for the country
is so perfectly flat that it will be impossible to get anything
like a general view of it. Do you know, colonel, I feel a good deal
more comfortable than I did during my last journey between Tours
and Orleans; for although I thought that we should manage, somehow,
to get through into Paris; still, I could not conceal from myself
that it was a very serious undertaking.
"How bitterly cold it is."
"It is, indeed," Colonel Tempe assented. "Being upon the staff we
shall, no doubt, manage to get a roof of some sort over our heads;
but for the sentries it must be terrible. The tents d'abri--if the
men can scrape away the snow, and get an armful of straw to lie
on--are snug enough; the men lie close together, and share their
blankets."
Half an hour after arriving at Orleans, Colonel Tempe and Ralph
were riding out upon the north road; followed by Tim Doyle, and the
colonel's orderly. The frost was keen, but the afternoon was bright
and clear; and as they cantered along the road--beaten flat and
hard, with the enormous traffic--their spirits rose, and Ralph
regretted that Percy was not there to share in his enjoyments.
Colonel Tempe shook his head when the wish was mentioned.
"No, no, Barclay, it is far better as it is. You are young enough,
in all conscience, for this iron work of war; your brother has done
far more than a man's share already, and will find it difficult
enough to go back as a schoolboy. He has escaped thus far, almost
by a miracle; but he was looking shaken, and worn. I am glad that
he is not here."
Three hours' riding took them to the little village near which
General Chanzy was quartered. The Sixteenth Corps lay to the left
of the French army, facing the Germans; who held the line of
villages of Guillonville, Terminiers, and Conier. It was already
dark when they arrived. The general's quarters were in a chateau, a
quarter of a mile distant from the village. When they reached it,
they were at once shown in; and found General Chanzy leaning over a
map, which he was trying to examine by the light of a solitary
candle.
"How are you, colonel?" he asked, shaking hands with him
heartily--for they were old friends. "I am very glad you have come.
There is plenty to do, and few to do it; at least, very few indeed
who know anything about their work.
"Who have you here?"
"Allow me to introduce Captain Barclay, general. Freysinet has
attached him to your staff. He served with me in the Vosges,
distinguished himself greatly, and won his lieutenancy and the
Cross. Since then he has been into Paris. No doubt you saw the
account of his swimming the Seine, with his brother."
"Of course, of course," General Chanzy said, warmly. "I am very
glad to have you with me, Captain Barclay. You will not be long
before you are at work, for the affair is just beginning. I have
just got news that there has been some sharp fighting, today, at
Beaurre la Rolande."
"With what results, sir?" Colonel Tempe asked.
"We gained a great deal of ground, in the morning," General Chanzy
said; "but they brought up reinforcements, and no material
advantage is claimed.
"And now," the general went on, "as to quarters, you must shift for
yourselves. Beds are out of the question; but you will find some
empty rooms upstairs and, fortunately, there is a little straw in
the stable. The outhouses are extensive, and you will be able to
get your horses under shelter. I should advise you to see about
them, at once. In an hour we shall have something to eat. I cannot
call it dining.
"Captain Barclay, will you kindly see to these matters? I shall be
glad to go through this map, at once, with Colonel Tempe."
Ralph at once obeyed the order, much pleased with his new
commander. General Chanzy was a man to inspire confidence in all
those who served under his orders. He was a young man, for a
general; but was very bald, and had a quiet and thoughtful air
which made him look older than he was. He was a man of few words;
and had a sharp, steady look which seemed to master, at once, the
important points of anything that was said to him. When he smiled,
the whole of his face seemed to light up.
"Just the man to serve under," Ralph thought to himself. "Cool,
self possessed, and with an eye that will see a weak point in a
moment.
"Is my orderly still at the door?" he asked a soldier in the
passage.
"Yes, sir; two orderlies, with the four horses."
"Can you get me a light of any sort?" Ralph asked. "I want to go
round to the stables, and get the horses somewhere in shelter."
"I will get you a lantern, sir," the man said. "But I fear that you
will find the place all crowded; but of course, you can turn some
of them out."
The orderly accompanied Ralph, with a lantern, across the yard; Tim
and Colonel Tempe's orderly following. Round the yard were many
cavalry horses, tied to pegs; driven in close by the wall of the
stables, so as to give them some little shelter from the intense
cold. The poor animals stood, side touching side, for warmth.
The orderly opened the door of one of the stables; and Ralph
entered, and looked round by the light of the lantern. The horses
were ranged together in the stalls, as closely as they could stand;
while the rest of the area was completely covered with cavalry
soldiers, some sitting up smoking and talking, others already
wrapped in their cloaks and stretched at full length.
A sergeant, seeing the marks of Ralph's rank, at once rose to his
feet and saluted.
"I have two horses here, sergeant; my own, and one of Colonel
Tempe's. General Chanzy told me I should find room here, but it
does not look like it."
"I will turn two of these horses out, sir," the sergeant said.
"Is there no other place?" Ralph asked.
"They are all as full as this, sir."
"There is a little shed, down at the end of the garden," one of the
men said. "I noticed it this afternoon. The door was locked. I
looked in, and it seemed a cow shed. I don't know whether anyone is
there. I will go down with you, sir, and show you the way, if you
like."
The shed was soon found, and the soldier forced the door open with
his sword bayonet. The place had, as he supposed, been a cow shed;
but the walls and roof were in good order, and the ground hard.
"This will do first rate, your honor," Tim said. "There is room for
all four horses, if they squeeze a bit; and for Jacques here, and
myself. I suppose, your honor, there will be no harm in knocking up
some of this woodwork, to make a bit of a fire? It's too dark to
look for sticks, tonight; and they would be so damp, from the snow,
that the smoke would choke the bastes entirely--to say nothing of
us."
"Well, under the circumstances, Tim, I agree with you; but don't do
more damage than you can help, and only make enough fire to make
the water hot for coffee, and so on. You will be warm enough, here,
with the four horses. You must go and see if you can get them some
forage."
"But how about your honor's and the colonel's dinner?" Tim asked.
"I haven't drawn rations; but I have got plenty of bread and meat,
in the haversack. I got them at Tours, for I thought there wouldn't
be much to be had here."
"Thank you for thinking of it, Tim, but we dine with the general.
When you have got the horses comfortable, and lit your fire, one of
you bring up our cloaks to the house. Keep the horses' saddles on,
with loosened girths. We may want them suddenly, at any moment of
the night."
The next morning, General Chanzy said to Ralph:
"I should recommend you, Captain Barclay, to spend an hour studying
this map; and getting up, from these lists, the exact position of
our forces. When you think you have mastered them, ride through the
whole of the positions occupied by the corps and, without exposing
yourself, gain as good an idea as you can of the country beyond.
Tomorrow you may have to ride straight to certain points, with
orders; and it may save important time if you are thoroughly
acquainted with the ground, and position."
After a couple of hours' study of the staff map, so as to know
every little by-lane and hamlet, for ten miles on either side,
Ralph mounted his horse and went for a long ride. When he returned,
Colonel Tempe told him that General Chanzy was gone over to General
D'Aurelle's quarters, to arrange the details; and that the attack
was to take place the next day.
At five o'clock the general returned; and Colonel Tempe and the
chief of his staff were occupied with him, for two hours, in
drawing up the specific orders for each corps. Colonel Tempe had
not been out, all day; and he therefore offered his horse to Ralph,
in order that Ralph's own might be fresh for the next day.
Four staff officers set off in various directions with the
dispatches; and Ralph congratulated himself upon having been upon
the ground he was now traversing once before that day as, even with
that previous acquaintance, it was hard work to find the way
through the darkness, from the snow altering the general appearance
and apparent distance of each object. Thanks, however, to his ride
of the morning, he reached the various corps to which he was
dispatched without any serious mistakes in his way; and got back to
headquarters by eleven o'clock.
Tim was waiting up for him.
"Sure, your honor, and it's a mighty cold night. I've got a pot of
coffee on the boil in the stables."
"Thank you, Tim. I will just go in and make my report to the
general, and then go off to bed. Bring the coffee into my room. We
shall be up early, for we fight tomorrow."
"Do we, now?" Tim said, admiringly. "And it's about time; for we
should be all frozen into skeletons, if we were to wait here doing
nothing much longer. Bad luck to the weather, says I."
At ten o'clock the next morning the French troops were in motion,
the objects of their attack being the villages of Guillonville,
Terminiers, and Conier. The country was extremely flat and, for an
hour, they saw no bodies of the enemy. A few videttes, only, were
seen. These galloped off hastily, the moment they caught sight of
the heavy masses of the French debouching from the wood. Ralph was
riding, with the rest of the staff, behind the general.
"That is Terminiers," Colonel Tempe said, pointing to a house or
two at a distance, on the plain.
As he spoke, a puff of smoke came from the houses.
"There is the first shell," was the general exclamation.
In another instant the missile burst near some infantry, at two
hundred yards to the right.
"Take orders to that battery, there, to take position on that
little eminence to the left there, Captain Barclay. Tell them to
keep the guns a little back among the trees, and to open sharply
upon Terminiers."
It was just twelve o'clock now and, in five minutes, there was a
roar of cannon along the whole length of both lines. For half an
hour the combat continued a mere artillery duel. The shells fell in
all directions; cutting the dry branches from the trees, tearing up
the ground, and leaving deep black gashes in the white snow;
crashing through a wall or, occasionally, exploding among the
troops.
"Their fire is slackening a little," General Chanzy said. "It is
time to be pushing forward.
"Lieutenant Porcet, take my orders to the colonel of that regiment
of Mobiles to advance at once, covered by skirmishers.
"Captain Barclay, order that Line regiment to support.
"Captain Maillot, order the artillery to concentrate their fire
upon the village, and to advance by batteries."
The orders were carried out, and the Mobiles advanced to within
five hundred yards of the village. The musketry fire was now
tremendous, and the Mobiles wavered. The Germans were entrenched in
the gardens and walled enclosures of the village. Every wall, every
house was loopholed; and rough barricades had been erected, to fill
up the breaks in the walls.
General Chanzy was sitting on horseback, a short distance in the
rear of the fighting. Mounted officers rode up and left again,
every moment, with news of the battle going on near the other
villages.
"Ride up and order the Mobiles to lie down, Captain Barclay; then
tell the colonel of the Line to bring his troops up in line with
them. Let them lie down, also.
"Tempe, have the two reserve batteries of artillery brought up, at
full speed, to silence that battery in the wood to the left of the
village. Its fire crosses the ground we have to pass over."
Ten minutes more of continuous cannonading, and then it was
apparent that the Prussian fire was weakening.
"Now, Barclay, tell them to charge, at the double."
Ralph set spurs to his horse but, just as he reached the troops, a
shell exploded just under his horse. Ralph heard a crash; felt a
shock, and a whirling through the air; and then fell heavily upon
the ground. Believing he was dangerously wounded, he made no effort
to get to his feet; but sat up and shouted to the colonel of the
Mobiles, who were not thirty yards from him:
"The Mobiles and Line are to charge, at the double, and to carry
the village with the bayonet."
The Mobiles had flinched a little before, as they had advanced with
the deadly fire of shot and shell; but they did not flinch now, and
leaping upon their feet, with a cry of "Vive la France!" the
Mobiles and Line soldiers literally made a race of it for the
village.
Ralph, after having given his message, lay back again, with a sort
of bewildered sensation. A minute afterwards he heard a rapid
galloping; and Colonel Tempe rode up, followed by Tim Doyle.
"Are you badly hurt, my dear boy?" the former exclaimed, as he
leaped from his horse. "The general himself asked me to come, and
see after you."
"I don't quite know, colonel," Ralph answered. "I feel, at present,
as if my head was knocked in, and my legs shot off."
"You had a tremendous shake," said Colonel Tempe--who was, with
Tim, by this time kneeling beside him--"and your horse is blown
almost to pieces; but I don't think, as far as I can see, at
present, that you are hit anywhere. Here, take a sip of brandy. It
will bring you round; you are stunned a little, you know.
"There, you are better now," he said; as Ralph, having drunk a
little brandy, sat up and looked round.
"I am all right, I think, colonel; don't stay any longer. Tim will
wait here. I don't think I was stunned, else I could not have given
the order. No, I imagine I had a near escape of breaking my neck.
"Please, don't wait. I shall be all right again, in five minutes. I
will take Tim's horse, and join you again. Tim will pick up a
musket--there are plenty about--and do a little fighting on his own
account."
Colonel Tempe jumped on his horse, and rode off. In a minute or
two, Ralph was able to mount Tim's horse, and ride slowly up to the
village, where a heavy musketry fire was still going on; but as no
shell or shot were now coming in the direction in which Ralph was,
it was evident that the French had taken the position, and had
opened fire upon the retreating Germans. The fight still raged,
both to the right and left; but in another quarter of an hour it
slackened also, here, and the three villages were all in the hands
of the French.
In a quarter of an hour, Ralph felt quite himself again and, seeing
one of his fellow staff officers gallop up, he asked him where he
could find the general.
"He is at Guillonville. But he will be here, in a few minutes. The
advance is to continue. We are to carry the villages of Monneville,
Villepani, and Faverolles."
In half an hour, the troops were again moved forward; but this time
the resistance was more obstinate than before, the Prussians having
received reinforcements. Hour after hour the fight continued. The
short winter day faded, and the gathering darkness was favorable to
the assailants and, at half-past five, they carried the villages by
assault.
The scene was a wild one. It was perfectly dark, save from the
incessant flashes of rifle and cannon. In the streets of the
village men fought, hand to hand. Some of the Germans, taking
refuge in the houses, refused to surrender. Others threw down their
arms, and cried for quarter. Shouts, screams, curses, cheers, the
explosion of firearms and the clash of steel mingled, in one wild
and confusing din. When it ceased, the village remained in the
hands of the French; and the Prussians retreated, sullenly, into
the darkness.
There was no rest for the staff, for hours--they were galloping
about, carrying orders--but at last Ralph returned to Villepani, at
which village General Chanzy had his headquarters. At the door of
the cottage which was pointed out, as that in which the general
was, Tim was waiting.
"Faith, your honor, if this is war, I've had enough of it."
"What is it, Tim?"
"What is it, your honor! Here have we been fighting all day, and
not a blessed thing to eat or to drink. No one knows what became of
the wagons; and here we are, without as much as a biscuit to
ate--and in such weather as this, too; and another battle in the
morning."
"Ay, Tim, it's bad enough, but think of the thousands of poor
fellows lying wounded, and freezing to death, on the snow."
"I do think of them, Mister Ralph; and I've been at work, ever
since we got in here, carrying the poor creatures in from the
gardens and fields. There is not a house here that's not full, from
the top to the bottom.
"Have you lost the wallet off my saddle, your honor?"
"No, Tim; why should I do that?"
"I don't know why you should, sir, but I have been making up my
mind that you would, all along; either that you would have had it
shot off, or that you'd throw it away to aise the horse. Now, we
shall do."
"Why, what's in the wallet, Tim?"
"Just a big chunk of bread, your honor It was left on the table
when you had breakfast, this morning; and I said to myself, it may
be useful before night, and so just slipped it into the wallet."
In another minute the bread was taken out, and cut into two
portions.
"I would not eat it all tonight, Tim, if I were you," Ralph said.
"It is not by any means too large for supper, but a mouthful in the
morning will be a great comfort. I suppose there is no chance of
getting anything for the horse?"
"Trust me, your honor One of the first things I did, when the
firing was over, was to pop into a stable and to get a big armful
of hay; and take it out and hide it away, under a hedge. It was
lucky I did; for the minute afterwards we could not have got a
handful, if we had offered a Napoleon for it."
"Where are you going to sleep, Tim?"
"Under that same hedge, Mister Ralph. The horse always lies down;
and he's so tired he won't break the rule, tonight; so I'll give
him half the hay for his supper and, when he's laid down, I'll put
the rest between him and the hedge, and roll myself up in my cloak
and--what with the cloak, and the horse, and the hedge, and the
hay, not to mention the supper--I shall be as warm as a lord; and
it's a comfort to think that there will be something to eat, both
for the baste and myself, in the morning."
"Well, good night then, Tim."
"Good night, your honor."
If Tim Doyle slept, there were not many of his comrades that did, on
that night. The cold was fierce, in the extreme; and those who could
obtain wood of any kind made fires, and crouched over them. Others
lay on the ground, and huddled together for warmth. Others dragged
their feet wearily backwards and forwards. Many and deep were the
curses poured out upon the intendance--or commissariat--whose utter
incompetence, throughout the war, was one of the great reasons of
the continuous bad fortune of the French.
When Ralph entered the room, he was saluted by a variety of voices.
The only light was a dim lantern. The room was half full of
officers; some dozing in corners, others sitting round the table,
smoking.
"Where is the general?"
"He has got a room, about half the size of this, for the use of
himself, Tempe, and the chief of the staff. They are writing; and
will go on writing all night, I expect. These are the only two
rooms not full of wounded in the whole village.
"You had a narrow escape, today. We have had our share of
casualties. Poor Maillet and Porcet are both killed, and we have
three wounded. Were you hurt at all?"
"No," Ralph said; "but I was tremendously shaken, and feel stiff
all over. I will lie down by the wall, here, and get a few hours'
sleep."
And so ended the 1st of December.