oldiers--youngsters, like himself, who had never
before been under fire--appeared to be utterly alone in that hell. They
were the end men of the regiment, and the configuration of the ground
completely hid them from their comrades.

"They glanced at each other, these four, and read one another's thoughts.
Leaving their rifles lying on the grass, they commenced to crawl
stealthily upon their bellies, the lieutenant leading, the other three
following.

"Some few hundred yards in front of them rose a small, steep hill. If
they could reach this it would shut them out of sight. They hastened on,
pausing every thirty yards or so to lie still and pant for breath, then
hurrying on again, quicker than before, tearing their flesh against the
broken ground.

"At last they reached the base of the slope, and slinking a little way
round it, raised their heads and looked back. Where they were it was
impossible for them to be seen from the Prussian lines.

"They sprang to their feet and broke into a wild race. A dozen steps
further they came face to face with an Austrian field battery.

"The demon that had taken possession of them had been growing stronger
the further they had fled. They were not men, they were animals mad with
fear. Driven by the same frenzy that prompted other panic-stricken
creatures to once rush down a steep place into the sea, these four men,
with a yell, flung themselves, sword in hand, upon the whole battery; and
the whole battery, bewildered by the suddenness and unexpectedness of the
attack, thinking the entire battalion was upon them, gave way, and rushed
pell-mell down the hill.

"With the sight of those flying Austrians the fear, as independently as
it had come to him, left him, and he felt only a desire to hack and kill.
The four Prussians flew after them, cutting and stabbing at them as they
ran; and when the Prussian cavalry came thundering up, they found my
young lieutenant and his three friends had captured two guns and
accounted for half a score of the enemy.

"Next day, he was summoned to headquarters.

"'Will you be good enough to remember for the future, sir,' said the
Chief of the Staff, 'that His Majesty does not require his lieutenants to
execute manoeuvres on their own responsibility, and also that to attack a
battery with three men is not war, but damned tomfoolery. You ought to
be court-martialled, sir!'

"Then, in somewhat different tones, the old soldier added, his face
s