, who was shaking Maurice
to wake him and give him his share.

"Ah," Lapoulle broke in, "we shall be at Angouleme to-morrow, and
then we'll have some bread. I had a cousin in the army once, who was
stationed at Angouleme. Nice garrison, that."

They all looked surprised, and Chouteau exclaimed:

"Angouleme--what are you talking about! Just listen to the bloody fool,
saying he is at Angouleme!"

It was impossible to extract any explanation from Lapoulle. He had
insisted that morning that the uhlans that they sighted were some of
Bazaine's troops.

Then darkness descended on the camp, black as ink, silent as death.
Notwithstanding the coolness of the night air the men had not been
permitted to make fires; the Prussians were known to be only a few miles
away, and it would not do to put them on the alert; orders even were
transmitted in a hushed voice. The officers had notified their men
before retiring that the start would be made at about four in the
morning, in order that they might have all the rest possible, and all
had hastened to turn in and were sleeping greedily, forgetful of their
troubles. Above the scattered camps the deep respiration of all those
slumbering crowds, rising upon the stillness of the night, was like the
long-drawn breathing of old Mother Earth.

Suddenly a shot rang out in the darkness and aroused the sleepers. It
was about three o'clock, and the obscurity was profound. Immediately
everyone was on foot, the alarm spread through the camp; it was supposed
the Prussians were attacking. It was only Loubet who, unable to sleep
longer, had taken it in his head to make a foray into the oak-wood,
which he thought gave promise of rabbits: what a jolly good lark it
would be if he could bring in a pair of nice rabbits for the comrades'
breakfast! But as he was looking about for a favorable place in which
to conceal himself, he heard the sound of voices and the snapping of
dry branches under heavy footsteps; men were coming toward him; he took
alarm and discharged his piece, believing the Prussians were at hand.
Maurice, Jean, and others came running up in haste, when a hoarse voice
made itself heard:

"For God's sake, don't shoot!"

And there at the edge of the wood stood a tall, lanky man, whose thick,
bristling beard they could just distinguish in the darkness. He wore a
gray blouse, confined at the waist by a red belt, and carried a musket
slung by a strap over his shoulder. He hurriedly explain