saw in
some miraculous vision what must be the end of all this toil.

"Mort de Dieu!" cried La Hire, forgetting in his wonder the loyally
kept promise to swear only by his baton, "but the Maid has nothing
to learn in the art of gunnery! Where hath she learnt such skill,
such wisdom! We never had guns to place at Orleans! Where has the
child seen warfare, that she places her artillery with the skill of
a tried general of forces!"

Ah!--where had the Maid learned her skill in any kind of warfare?
Had we not been asking this from the first? This was but another
development of the same miracle. For my part I had ceased now to
wonder at anything which she said or did.

At daybreak on the morrow the roar of battle began. The air was
shaken by the crash and thunder of the guns from both sides. But it
was plain to all eyes how that the cunning disposition of our
pieces, set just where they could deal most effectively with a weak
point in the fortifications, or a gateway less capable than others
of defence, were doing far more hurt to the enemy than their fire
did to us. For the most part their balls passed harmlessly over our
heads, and the clouds of arrows were for us the greater danger,
though our armour protected us from over-much damage.

But it was before Jargeau that the incident happened, which so many
writers have told of the Maid and the Duc d'Alencon; how that she
did suddenly call to him, nay more, drew him with her own hand out
of the place where he had stood for some time near to her, saying
in a voice of warning, "Have a care, my lord, there is death at
hand!"

Another young knight boldly stepped into that very position from
which she had snatched Alencon, and an instant afterwards his head
was struck off by a cannon ball. The Maid saw and covered her eyes
for a moment with her mailed hand.

"Lord have mercy on that brave soul!" she whispered, "but why did
he not heed the warning?"

Well, the fighting round Jargeau was fierce and long; but the Maid
with her standard held stubbornly to the place beside the wall
which she had taken up, and at sight of her, and at the sound of
her clear, silvery voice, encouraging and commanding, the men came
ever on and on, regardless of peril, till the scaling ladders were
set, and through the breaches torn in the walls by the guns, our
soldiers swarmed over into the town, shouting with the shout of
those with whom is the victory.

Again the Maid triumphed. Again the h