Charlevoix county herald., 1906-05-19

along the line. Fleischmann had fallen
back, slipping on loose stone. Now he
fairly leaped ahead OF US: his great SABRE
scythe in ripe wheat. The French stood
in a pit dug around the brow OF the hill
and fought like demons. There seemed 10
be thousands Of them. Our revolvers were
emptied Immediately. and II was then a
primitive fight-hand to hand, face to face,
shoulder to shoulder struck out to right
and left with but one acknowledgements
ton. AS I'm a dream l heard the deadly
clash of metal, the putting and granting
OF straining men; the blasphemy; the
Shrek OF the wounded
Farther around the hill top our men
were falling back; and farther yet they
were clear inside the line. driving the
French before them. A few of our men
gathered about us, and. almost surrounded
by the Infatuated French we held our
own, fighting with the absolute despera-
ton that comes into a mans heart put
in with the dead; yet as fast as they went
down others came forward. There seemed
to be no end to the cut and slash, the
eyes looking into our own with murderous
hate. Lowenberg was on my right; at his
right Fleisehmann, welding, his sabre like
again. STEADY. we'll have them on the
rum" But I'm my heart L knew that IL
could not be so; that we must go down in
blood and dust, victims Of misguided
principle.
Then an ugly, squat Frenchman, who
had been felled some time before by one
Of tSwenbSergs lightning strokes and TTg iS
desperate thrust sent his bayonet into
Lowenberg's vitals. All, God, how 1t sick
ened me. My beloved friend sank with
gasp. mist obscured my sight; for
moment L weakened and my sword wa
vered Before could recover, the butt OF
musket appeared in the air Immediately
before me and descended upon my head.
My ears rang like foundry. The whole
world seemed suddenly to be whirling like
a Fourth of July pinwheel. with multi
ward and fell heavily upon the pile of
dead in the trench. AS l went down
looked at Fleischmann. He stood erect,
with feet well spread, like some great
war-god. a sabre in each hand, hewing,
smashing, cutting, his lips compressed, his
jaws set with determination. He had
thrown away his coat long before; his hat
blood trickle down over his bronzed
cheeks. Into my heart came great love
for this mighty fighter. Then my, light
went out and the horrid noise OF war
faded away into the great silence.
1t was Fleischmann's voice In my ears
that wakened me. L lay upon the grass
in small, open shed: He was bathing
my head with cool water. Quickly recol-
lection came back to me, and stung into
activity by my. supposed danger l rose to
for the dead and wounded there was not
a Frenchman in sight. Fleischmann was
as calm as before the fight began. He
told me that just as he was about to give
were in full possession, but at what
fearful cost Out of ten thousand men
barely five hundred to answer the call.
L found Lowenberg lying on heap of
straw. his light Pickering, his mind wan
dering. At intervals he gave orders, crfed
out to his wife, or sang .snatches OF Ger
man ballads. One Of his under officers, |
who was a physician, sat near. He shook
his head in answer to my inquiry. There
was no hope.
Presently my friend turned his head and
looked at me with eyes suddenly grown |
clear Adams" he said, family, tell |
the boys 1t was good fight, They were |
true Prussians. And tell-tell his Majes- |
ty--" He half rose, and raised his arm
with clenched fist For God and the
he cried in ringing tones,
and fell back dead.
We turned the French guns in the direc-
ton of the river and prepared to hold our |
little fort for the expected assault. For |
several hours there had been little or
no firing to the east. where the main
armies were engaged. 1t was late after
noon now. The sky was becoming over
cast. and the wind was rising.
All the guns in the world seemed to be |
going off at once. From our elevated po-
sition' We could see far out on the plain.
picked up glass from dead officer and
put it to my eyes. There lay the piano.
-ama of war! Like moving patches Of
lead grass appeared the opposing forces.
soft gray sea-island-cloth of the French
gave distinction enough. There was no
smoke, for this is the day of smokeless
powder. The center of fighting appeared
o be well down the bend of the Marine,
md as l watched L could see that the
water was full of black specks. The
French were being forced into the river.
\ large body of the gray was hurrylng up
he river bank, making for the Monte
pelier crossing. And we with but half a
men to defend it,
The wind increased in force. The skies
grew dark. And now, coming from the
south, appeared a shoal of small airships,
IF a new. dirigible type, with fans and
'udders They circled above us, hardly a
quarter of a mile away, and swung down
oward the battlefield, heading into the
gale in regular formation. And as 1
watched a strange thing happened. The
ships were poised directly over the vic
orious Germans Suddenly a series of
peculiar popping reports came to my ears.
saw the Germans breaking, scattering,
'unning away. from the French. The
ground beneath them, behind them, in
ront Of them, sparkled, like the phos-
)horescent ocean. L saw the whole army
moving north, a struggling. disorganized
horde. They left behind them a brown
rack. and as the sky lightened for a
moment l saw that the track was hui
bodies of men prone upon the
,arth. 1 called Fleischmann. Look" /
,ried. THE army is retrea ting. See the
sparks around them. What does it
nean?"