The Lamar register., 1902-05-28

besieged
Everywhere the German arms had
been victorious.
Paul Rhinelander had alredy seen
much of wars horrors. and AL that
was martial in his nature had been
stirred by the scenes of excitement
that had come his way.
There had been news of HOFFMAN.
The man was traitor to his coun-
try-madness had seized upon him.
and making use of the fact that his
maternal grandparents were Alsations.
hence French subjects. he had gone
over to the enemy. bag and baggage.
Paul heard this with grim satisfac-
ton. Paul. who knew to a certainty
that this change of heart had been
wrought through the witchery of that
beautiful and magnetic creature. the
countess. and that Conrad was her
latest victim.
All unknown to Rhinelander, events
were under full headway and driving
swiftly toward a most dramatic eli
max, at which altar his fate must be
decided.
The mutter and growl of heavy
siege guns. that for hours had been
sending their projectiles into the
forts defending the citadel of Metz.
had by degrees died away, and night
was spreading her mantle of rest over
the tragic scene. MacMahon's great
army was hemmed in more securely
than ever.
This October night was destined to
be forever marked by white stone
in the annals of Paul's romantic life
history-ere the morning star shone
upon Metz he would have passed
through another experience that must
have decided influence upon his
whole future.
He was sauntering about after COM
ing from the field hospital. when he
met by chance an aide of the general
in command at this post.
From him he heard news that cleo
trified him: news that indicated so
daring a night assault on the fortress
that Paul hardly believed it to be
true. Immediately he sought an au-
dience with the commander to beg for
ity of seeing whatever of action there
might prove to be in the assault
Rhinelander had seen much of SER
vice, but his desire to have some sort
of share in everything that came to
pass led him to Join the forces Sc
lected for this hazardous task. He
was in the van. of course-men of
his stamp usually find some means of
reaching the front rank when the bat
tie is in progress.
When the French opened fire it
seemed as though the whole outer
works blazed with the fury of Ve-
suvius.
Chassepot and mitrailleuse mingled
their bark until 1t became thunder
GUS roar-men shouted and cheered,
while above it all could be heard the
hollow rattle of the fiat Bavarian
drums.
To Paul the music was a hideous
nightmare, but he could appreciate the
fact that it served to animate and
enthuse these Bavarians just as the
pibroch thrills the Highlander-mus-
cIes grew as stiff as iron, teeth
snapped close together, eyes were set
in that steady stare that tells of in
domitable will power-and into the
jaws of death they went.
They were now at the foot of the
apparently impregnabe fortress.
The fire above was just as furious,
but most of the missiles overshot the
mark, and had they chosen to wait.
chance for breathing spell now of
fered itself. However. they went up
over the walls like the wild chamois of
the Swiss Alps, those little Bavarians
did.
In the eyes of the amazed French
men they must have appeared little
short of devils Matched out of the in
fernal fires that blazed all around.
Once in the Notifications they came
into hand-to-hand conflict with the |
French, and then the fiercest kind of
warfare was inaugurated.
The Bavarians might have had held
the fort had they been quickly rein
forced, but it was not the policy of the
German generals to bring on a bat
tie. since starvation must decide the
question speedily enough.
Their object had been attained in
teaching the French that after all
their position was not SO impregnable
as they might have believed.
And hence the signal of recall
sounded.
Surrounded by struggling forms en-
gagged in a desperate death grapple,
with fires and the blaze of still boom
ing cannon lighting up the scene as
with the glow of Internal conflagra
tions, the spectacle of Paul engaged
with q Erench sWnrdsman WAS one