Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1921-03-11
CHAPTER xiii-Continued.

harm now, for we were on our faces, |
and in an instant we could turn into a
huddle OF bayonets if his horse came
down again. But behind the thunder
Of the guns there arose sharper,
shriller noise, whirring and rafting,
the widest. jauntiest, most stirring
Kind of sound.
IT'S the pas-de-charse cried an
officer "They mean business this
lime"
And as he spoke we saw strange
hing. A Frenchman. dressed as an
officer of hussars, came galloping to-
ward us on little bay horse. He
was screeching "Viye lie Roi Vive lie
Roiv at the pitch Of his lungs, which
was as much as to say that he was
4 deserter. since we were for the king
and they for the emperor. As he
passed us he roared out In English
'The Guard is coming! The Guard
IS coming" and so vanished away to
he rear like leaf blown before
storm At the same instant up there
rode an aide-de-camp with the reddest
lace that ever | saw upon mortal man.
"You must stop 'em, or We are
lone" he cried to General Adams, so
that all our company could hear him.
"How is it going?" asked the gen
.ral
1.-TWO weak squadrons left out of six
regiments Of heavies," said he, and be-
gan to laugh like man whose nerves
are oyerstrung.
perhaps you would care to join
in our advance. Pray consider your
self quite one of u.s." said the general,
bowling and smiling as il he were ask
ing him to a dish Of tea.
IL shall have much pleasure said
the other. taking off his hat, and a
moment afterward our three regiments
| closed up and the brigade advanced In
| four lines over the hollow where we
| had lain in square, and out beyond
| the point whence we had seen the
| French army.
There was little Of it to be seen
low, only the red belching Of the guns
aashing quickly out of the cloud-bank,
and the black figures, STOPPING, strain
ing. hopping. sponging, working like
| devils and at devilish work. But
| through the cloud that rattle and whir
rose louder and louder, with a deep
mouthed shouting and the stamping of
thousands of feet. Then there came a
broad black blur through the haze,
which darkened and darkened. until
we could see that it was hundred
men abreast, marching swiftly toward
| as. with high fur hats upon their heads
and a CLEAN Of brasswork over their
GROWS. And behind that hundred came
another hundred, and behind that an.
other, and so on, coiling and writing
out of the cannon-smOke. like a mon
strous snake, until there seemed to be
40 end to the mighty column. In front
ran Il spray of skirnishers and be
hind them the drummers, and up they
all came together at a kind of trip
ping step, with the officers clustering
thickly at the sides and waving theii
swords and cheering. There were q
dozen mounted men, too, at their front
all shouting together. and one with his
nat held alOft upon his sword-point.
say again that no men upon this eartl
could have fought more manfully thar
the French did upon that day.
1t was wonderful to see them, for
as they came onward, they got aheat
Of their own guns, so that they hat
: no longer any help from them. while
| they got in front of the two batteries
| which had been on either side of III
| all day. Every gun had their rang
to foot, and we saw long red line
scored right down the dark column a
1t advanced. So near were they, ant
so closely did they march, that ever
shot plowed through ten files of then
and yet they closed up, and came o.
with swing and dash that was fin
to see. Their head was turned straigh
for ourselves, while the Ninety-fift
Overlapped them on one side and tn
fifty-second on the other.
shall always think that, II we ha
|! waited so. the Guard would hay
broken us, for how could a fOur-dee
n line stand against such column? Blu
at that moment Colburne. the cOlont
of the Fifty-second, swung his rigf
{ hank around so as to bring it on tn
side of the column, which brought tn
frenchmen to halt. Their front lin
was forty PAGES from us at the m,
ment, and we had good look at then
1t was funny to me to remember this
had always thought Of Frenchmen @
small men, for there was not one
that first company who could not hay
picked me up as If l had been a chill,
and their great hats made them loo
taller yet. They were hard, wlzene,
wiry fellows, too, with fierce, puckere
eyes and bristling mustaches-old so
diers who had fought and fought wee
In. week out, for many year. An
then, as l stood with finger upo
the trigger, waiting for the word
fire my eye fell upon the mounted of
er. with his hat upon his sword, an
saw that II was De Lissac.