Fabrizio opened his eyes, and ate the bread without having the strength to speak.
When at length he looked round for the soldier to pay him, he found himself alone; the men nearest to him were a hundred yards off and were marching.
Mechanically he rose and followed them.
He entered a wood; he was dropping with exhaustion, and already had begun to look round for a comfortable resting-place; but what was his delight on recognising first of all the horse, then the cart, and finally the cantiniere of that morning!
She ran to him and was frightened by his appearance.
"Still going, my boy," she said to him; "you're wounded then?
And where's your fine horse?"
So saying she led him towards the cart, upon which she made him climb, supporting him under the arms.
No sooner was he in the cart than our hero, utterly worn out, fell fast asleep.
Chapter 4
Nothing could awaken him, neither the muskets fired close to the cart nor the trot of the horse which the cantiniere was flogging with all her might. The regiment, attacked unexpectedly by swarms of Prussisn cavalry, after imagining all day that they were winning the battle, was beating a retreat or rather fleeing in the direction of France.
The colonel, a handsome young man, well turned out, who had succeeded Macon, was sabred; the battalion commander who took his place, an old man with white hair, ordered the regiment to halt.
"Damn you," he cried to his men, "in the days of the Republic we waited till we were forced by the enemy before running away.
Defend every inch of ground, and get yourselves killed!" he shouted, and swore at them. "It is the soil of the Fatherland that these Prussians want to invade now!"
The little cart halted; Fabrizio awoke with a start.
The sun had set some time back; he was quite astonished to see that it was almost night.
The troops were running in all directions in a confusion which greatly surprised our hero; they looked shame-faced, he thought.
"What is happening?" he asked the cantiniere.
"Nothing at all.
Only that we're in the soup, my boy; it's the Prussian cavalry mowing us down, that's all.
The idiot of a general thought at first they were our men.
Come, quick, help me to mend Cocotte's trace; it's broken."
Several shots were fired ten yards off.
Our hero, cool and composed, said to himself:
"But really, I haven't fought at all, the whole day; I have only escorted a general.—I must go and fight," he said to the cantiniere.
"Keep calm, you shall fight, and more than you want!
We're done for."
"Aubry, my lad," she called out to a passing corporal, "keep an eye on the little cart now and then."
"Are you going to fight?" Fabrizio asked Aubry.
"Oh, no, I'm putting my pumps on to go to a dance!"
"I shall follow you."
"I tell you, he's all right, the little hussar," cried the cantiniere. "The young gentleman has a stout heart."
Corporal Aubry marched on without saying a word.
Eight or nine soldiers ran up and joined him; he led them behind a big oak surrounded by brambles. On reaching it he posted them along the edge of the wood, still without uttering a word, on a widely extended front, each man being at least ten paces from the next.
"Now then, you men," said the corporal, opening his mouth for the first time, "don't fire till I give the order: remember you've only got three rounds each."
"Why, what is happening?" Fabrizio wondered.
At length, when he found himself alone with the corporal, he said to him :
"I have no musket."
"Will you hold your tongue?
Go forward there: fifty paces in front of the wood you'll find one of the poor fellows of the Regiment who've been sabred; you will take his cartridge-pouch and his musket.
Don't strip a wounded man, though; take the pouch and musket from one who's properly dead, and hurry up or you'll be shot in the back by our fellows."
Fabrizio set off at a run and returned the next minute with a musket and a pouch.
"Load your musket and stick yourself behind this tree, and whatever you do don't fire till you get the order from me… . Great God in heaven!" the corporal broke off, "he doesn't even know how to load!"
He helped Fabrizio to do this while going on with his instructions.
"If one of the enemy's cavalry gallops at you to cut you down, dodge round your tree and don't fire till he's within three paces: wait till your bayonet's practically touching his uniform.
"Throw that great sabre away," cried the corporal. "Good God, do you want it to trip you up?
Fine sort of soldiers they're sending us these days!"
As he spoke he himself took hold of the sabre which he flung angrily away.
"You there, wipe the flint of your musket with your handkerchief.
Have you never fired a musket?"