uis de Bourbon, the
Marshal de Rais, and the Vidame de Chartres were added also. We had a
right to feel a little uneasy, for we knew that a force of five thousand
men was on its way under Sir John Fastolfe to reinforce Jargeau, but I
think we were not uneasy, nevertheless. In truth, that force was not yet
in our neighborhood. Sir John was loitering; for some reason or other he
was not hurrying. He was losing precious time--four days at Etampes, and
four more at Janville.

We reached Jargeau and began business at once. Joan sent forward a heavy
force which hurled itself against the outworks in handsome style, and
gained a footing and fought hard to keep it; but it presently began to
fall back before a sortie from the city. Seeing this, Joan raised her
battle-cry and led a new assault herself under a furious artillery fire.
The Paladin was struck down at her side wounded, but she snatched her
standard from his failing hand and plunged on through the ruck of flying
missiles, cheering her men with encouraging cries; and then for a good
time one had turmoil, and clash of steel, and collision and confusion
of struggling multitudes, and the hoarse bellowing of the guns; and
then the hiding of it all under a rolling firmament of smoke--a firmament
through which veiled vacancies appeared for a moment now and then,
giving fitful dim glimpses of the wild tragedy enacting beyond; and
always at these times one caught sight of that slight figure in white
mail which was the center and soul of our hope and trust, and whenever
we saw that, with its back to us and its face to the fight, we knew that
all was well. At last a great shout went up--a joyous roar of shoutings,
in fact--and that was sign sufficient that the faubourgs were ours.

Yes, they were ours; the enemy had been driven back within the walls. On
the ground which Joan had won we camped; for night was coming on.

Joan sent a summons to the English, promising that if they surrendered
she would allow them to go in peace and take their horses with them.
Nobody knew that she could take that strong place, but she knew it--knew
it well; yet she offered that grace--offered it in a time when such a
thing was unknown in war; in a time when it was custom and usage to
massacre the garrison and the inhabitants of captured cities without
pity or compunction--yes, even to the harmless women and children
sometimes. There are neighbors all about you who well remember the
unspeakable atroc