eat sorrow; you
won't behave like cowards. Remember, the 106th has never turned its back
upon the enemy; will you be the first to disgrace our flag?"

And he spurred his charger across the path of the fugitives, addressing
them individually, speaking to them, of their country, in a voice that
trembled with emotion.

Lieutenant Rochas was so moved by his words that he gave way to an
ungovernable fit of anger, raising his sword and belaboring the men with
the flat as if it had been a club.

"You dirty loafers, I'll see whether you will go up there or not! I'll
kick you up! About face! and I'll break the jaw of the first man that
refuses to obey!"

But such an extreme measure as kicking a regiment into action was
repugnant to the colonel.

"No, no, lieutenant; they will follow me. Won't you, my children? You
won't let your old colonel fight it out alone with the Prussians! Up
there lies the way; forward!"

He turned his horse and left the trench, and they did all follow, to a
man, for he would have been considered the lowest of the low who could
have abandoned their leader after that brave, kind speech. He was the
only one, however, who, while crossing the open fields, erect on his
tall horse, was cool and unconcerned; the men scattered, advancing in
open order and availing themselves of every shelter afforded by the
ground. The land sloped upward; there were fully five hundred yards of
stubble and beet fields between them and the Calvary, and in place of
the correctly aligned columns that the spectator sees advancing when
a charge is ordered in field maneuvers, all that was to be seen was
a loose array of men with rounded backs, singly or in small groups,
hugging the ground, now crawling warily a little way on hands and knees,
now dashing forward for the next cover, like huge insects fighting their
way upward to the crest by dint of agility and address. The enemy's
batteries seemed to have become aware of the movement; their fire was so
rapid that the reports of the guns were blended in one continuous roar.
Five men were killed, a lieutenant was cut in two.

Maurice and Jean had considered themselves fortunate that their way led
along a hedge behind which they could push forward unseen, but the man
immediately in front of them was shot through the temples and fell back
dead in their arms; they had to cast him down at one side. By this time,
however, the casualties had ceased to excite attention; they were too
num