The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-21
CHAPTER V.
HOW THE SECOND DAY ENDED.

CHAPTER v.
HOW THE SECOND DAY ENDED.
Success is a wonderful tonic for fatigue. This
Inhalation raised the spirits and dispeIled the
weariness of ever, man In the expedition.
they were compelled to shoot.
evening fell, to gain the shelter OF a defle in
the vosRes Mountains. So tired were many Of
| the troopers that they slept as they rode, and at
the earliest possible moment lie Breton halted
| to enable them to recuperate somewhat.
Toward midnight the unpleasant inquisitiye-
ness OF the enemy's cavalry scouts forced the
French commander once more to arouse his
worn-out followers. For two hours they logged
ed In gloom by the frowning heights: Then Le
! Breton decided that. come what might. his men
a ihey R %oSid Be- 6 eaSsolS aaSs a a fRSs3u for t tss' st e'Te
work Of the following day.
The Germans; o. course. Were now on the
The Emperor sent bitter and scathing tele-
and Sarrebourg for having allowed the quarry
to slip through their hands. and the latter un-
The headquarters stan felt certain. from the
latest details to hand. that the French ma
rau .ta; would om Ldd endeaEor to regain gain the q e, shelter
Vile imperative orders were in consequence
given for a powerful force to gather in the
neighborhood OF Avricourt and Belmont in
order to cut them up when they appeared.
And cut up they assuredly must have been
after daybreak on Friday morning. Every hill
top was lined with scouts; every road and pos
f tronns' o Innsin erS for the ~p1a ttuIn5iiStyTeo Of Gerera.
ing the insults heaped upon their arms and
the. frightful havoc done TO their commune
cations by this intrepid body OF horse.
Hour after hour the Germans waited. eagerly
securing the eastern horizon for the first signs
| were reused into frenzied activity. The enemy
had indeed arrived. but from a wholly unex-
Gen. Daubisson in person. leading a strong
reconnaissance OF cavalry and horse artillery
from Luneville. was now forcing a. passage
through the new rear Of the German invaders.
At 8 O'Clock on a bright May morning LIE
Breton and his bTigadiers rode along the ranks
of their gallant followers, addressing words Of
announcement and good cheer TO the men.
Of T aSe G isst PoId he edd TeS 6sfefe T tRe i ine e das6 %as
made for liberty and France. There. five miles
away. on the other side Of the shirmeck pass;
mandatory OF small arms and ammunition.
but now. he learned from the PEASANTS, de-
nuded Of defenders save some hundreds OF bus
lily occupied workmen. most of whom were Sc
cretly enthusiastic Alsatians. .
between tive vine-ciad cliffs. and In the intervening
country were the main line OF, railway between
StrasburG and Colmar. two branch lines. the
the thoroughfares by rail, road and water
most remarkable achievement ever yet carried
through by so small a force In a country held
10y such armies as owned the sway OF the
lie breton made no secret of his desperate
enterrrise. and his men acclaimed him as he
under Atsff his IS guidance aHfs sa they s.! SSald have folIo%ed
The column had crossed the tor of the pass
when the rear guard saw through their glasses
z fbs sSlitaREE IL R %as Rnties sp9dE ressed fqiT In CIVILIAN ais str
tire and obviously alone. They waited In
silence until he drew near.
unmistakaole British accent. that he was one
OF the war eorrespondents Of the Times. and
This newcomer was in strange plight. His
clothes we're torn and shot through II several
Z pl siisht hf uproW W Which had nevertheless bed
profusely and rendered him a sorry object. His
horse, 2 fine hunter was IN the last stage q
by propping out his forelegs when the mysteri-
GUS rider dlsmounted The man. too. though
suffering from hunger and fatigue.
Yet his manner was perfectly calm N. and the
had reached them, while they noted, with
for his horse. in whose behalf he obtained a pail
The oficer he addressed did not know how to
deal with this apparition. so he promptly took
Whom have we here?" was LIE Breton's FIRST
The, EnelIshman produced his otncial pass.
forth that he was Mr., Herbert Fairfax, war
correspondent OF the Times. accredited TO ac-
company the French armies In the field.
But how is this I" cried the astounded Gen
eral. Where do you come from ?"
Prom Luneville. j left last night In advance
OF Gen. Daubisson's column
Column! What column. Monsieur 2"
"A cavalry reconnaissance In force. which by
this time is breaking through the German front
nc st. Die"
In ordeL, to ascertain your whereabouts and
"Diablc. that's good. Yet how could Dau-
bison guess my position 80 accurately :"
1t was hardly a guess. Mr.. V1nsittArt, In
formed from England and Belgium OF your
progress, estimated that you would be in this
neiRhborhood to-day. and probably hard
pressed. so he asked the commander-in-chief
Monsieur. You bring good news Neverthe-
less. l am at a los, TO know by what means you
have reached me-"
oh. ] Just started. and here I am
By st, Denis. see YOU. but my brains do
are. indeed How did you get here? Why did
not the Germans stop you ~
They tried all they knew" said Fairfax, In
dlcatinR with a smile his Scared face and torn
clothes. But II is di6lcult 10 shoot straight at
night. and j was better mounted than the
UhlAns. j regret the necessity hat compelled
me 10 bore holes in three OF them"
"Monsieur!" cried lie Breton, you are an
Enylishman! Let 1t suihce! Enough for me
that you. are 2, brave man. I welcome you.
Hss %pst add that you have Joined us alta
WANTED sOmethinE to write about. laughed