"There is the first sh.e.l.l," 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 sh.e.l.ls 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 pa.s.s 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 sh.e.l.l 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 sh.e.l.l; 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 sh.e.l.l 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 a.s.sailants and, at half-past five, they carried the villages by a.s.sault.
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.