The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-09-04

was imprisoned int bastiIle OF hesitation,
n@i ap asommssgTS8bot SSppaslsleada. y but SsS %Roie. ao WR Rstte 4
happening at the lfrontf'
fKnairs u outpostq np to the present. The
faucon has been forced. back. Our fortified
camp. at verdun. invested ut first. is now only
enemy' occupies the right bank Of the Meuse.
lille I control the left. But / have Just re-
eeiyed some IMPORTANT news, Io-Tnorrow the
the Meuse,n' And the General gave to Jerome
a teleRraphic hlmsy.
London Ddiig Ne,Os that unusual %commotion
prevails IN the. German ltnes. IL is believed
that he 4sol IS0nSg, della shd H tba 3 : 9o has Sn Ssen h def
the, first great battleof the Franco-German war
The sendef was. the French War Minister.
He explained that the information forwarded to
the English ewspAper had been telephQned to
him Pa ny saS tF FTo%n,e AlnH saff had az only ~ f Sa :
Yet there is time. WHAT have you doneii ;.
the ea SiSposItio sna of RS ioGrc g m 26o GRS s pieEed
troops, the vital essence OF the French Army.
'.fo, resmaln on the alert and vigorously dis
pute the CROSSING OF the river at every threat
Good. EXCELLENT But we must do more"
The American paced the room with slow
strides. Daublsson was too fine a character to
ing before day broke. the KAISER woul sleep
in Dan9issop's headqIarters ne same night.
NAn4tttnrJ lnlGpu, GeneT1I, ne bOlu, your
preparations are superb. Nevertheless, we
must disconcert the enemy at the very mo-
ment when his divisions are ready to march.
Most certainly"
Where are they2"
Daubisson flushed slightly as he bent to the
never thought Of attacking; his most s%anRuine
aspirations dreamed OF effective resistance.
He was clever enough to grasp the situation
and accept it without comment. After a brief
scrutiny he replied:
t. say that the bulk q the apparatus Is at
6hslons~ Jerome &C, could ol not %r sssaI r.
the rear-on the road to. Paris. The French
army was apparently prepared for retreat
heroes the Marine rather than advance across
I" well EeirI two will %sufhce. Himmediate orders
be be given 1iysr; Ct what hour can they be thrown over
Rlsfpb BlsS c%Spssulted his watch
where I L i Soar e eavq Il % disisSie sPSyss, 10 Dre'0n'
twenty minutes, AbdEle cali viii see the resi-
"Goilecta strong force of horse artillery. Warn
q brigade OF infantry. march straight 70 the
the moment the bridges are practicable.
Drive the German vedettes before you to the
east: Understand the German centre is at
Yes said Daubisson.
crn rlhs fSo the q E% n st' Mi II Pe WSsne T EbFee try roads IS
VAOn Vi. u ~ 1AhihOi WnOA -. ~
are lpEotectsd BY at least 100 guns and plenty
graph, similar instructions to YOU southern
divisional commander at Commercy. Nancy,
and 1HRevine. The northern German col
a sortie with, the whole. Of his effective troops.
int IN th sa P fSSslits. plffR n ss Ss xG eas t0a ada Ia that $sfa Gems
erals arc e. hold themselves in readiness to
S SroS.b The s M~sasSI y they sysn TsSsIye the Srd Son.
train train to Ii the ,f Il and St. Mi6iel columns. t
Bareie-Duc woke into instant life.
Dagbisson at least possessed the rare vir-
1lt3 80 precisey Le Breton led the first troop
that spanned TIN Me,Tse between Troyon and
st. Mihiel. The engineers were subjected to
desultory. firing by the German pickets. but
they performed, their work SO smartly that
before & brigade could : s1+d be ot marched ID to t2s the
In the dim light the French executed a very
R Ree1 Wanted @pR 10 accom- 7 hiiaR1T their l eadeG's sent En on
two regiments of cavalry on a detour. and the
IRE at the rapidly gathering enemy.
Meanwhile the guns got INTO position and en-
EassSd q ? G Ter ssen aor q a battery t 4 re esd Sel,
combat. on a mail scale. was in process OF de-
velopment. when the French cavalry. coming
guns In flank.
Half an hour later. when the dawn Of a bright
sHImH tRis SURPRISE 9pT sG must have have been iiD mapossibIe.
But now 1t was a complete success. Quite dis
concerted. and unable to swing round In time.
do but to bolt. which they did magniacently.
The gums. OF course, unprotected by cavalry.
lie Breton ordered Montsaloy. who led this
brilliant charge. to follow fast on the heels 81
the redt1FSesatiRE infa%PStr c a but not to to5 get h himself IL
the pontoons to see how the supporting troops
were crossing. He was aetounded to meet So
fields and seemingly waiting for orders, ~
It vas Sa simply nryys im4P43SSs a rise IoT Il NEARLY tSs Srd 52;opV
Wsy d Il faxe the seG pssf t wee tyy 1--we IN m tRs Sea'naf'
But LIE Breton had his explanation ready.
That devil, Yansittart. has been up to som
Sure enough. when he reached the Meuse
he found the e. millionaire q %n9mhor ne near nto ne o4 RsSateo9fe e
sHr52Hh he wa Ds exP PSinRss Il 1i position to be
occupied by each brigade in the Forthcoming
And now the mystery of the rapid move.
II was hardly c~redibleNneither Daubisson
nor any Of his lieutenants knew that the
Mouse above Verdun was fordable in many
When yansittart and Arizona Jim rode Ut
patience. In peaceful operations, it is a long
and tedious task to transport O large body OF
men over a narrow pontoon. Here there were
but two for an Army corps.
A hOrrtDle dread seized NanBltCarU as ne
looked at the tumble Of soldiers, guns and
horses, with ammunition carts, ambnlanG a and ID
longest the very approaches to the bridges.
The firing on the other side warned him that
LIE Breton was actively engaged. Even II the
| Germans were repulsed. it could only b. for an
hour. until their supports arrived In over.
whelming st tEa1G h,s. II the e,I FTene ihav w wsTS
suffer complete and demgaoraliziPg disaster r.
| military training which must have ~foreseen
this error OF Judgment. He was about to sqs,
Breton, when Jim Bates. who had been watch
ing with amusement an alteration between
an artillery Major and a zouave Colonel. turned
What's ,wIoyRg with the crowd walking
Walking acrossI whereS" cried Jerome
why, Almost anywhere" said Jim, BY way
OF example. he selected a point q little higher
up stream, and rode over. the water scarce
Al he returned, the quick witted French
iC'ast un lapinl" shouted an admirinR Cor.