With Frederick the Great: A Story of the Seven Years' War by G. A. Henty (best classic romance novels txt) 📗

companies of regular infantry, rushed up the hill. Although taken by surprise, the Prussians promptly formed and drove them down again. Winterfeld was some miles behind, having been escorting an important convoy; and rode at a gallop to the spot, as soon as he heard the sound of cannon; and brought up two regiments, at a run, just as the grenadiers were retiring from the hill, unable to withstand the masses hurled against them.

Sending urgent messages to Bevern, to hurry up reinforcements, Winterfeld led his two regiments forward, joined the grenadiers and, rushing eagerly up the hill, regained the position. But the Austrians were not to be denied, and the fight was obstinately sustained on both sides. No reinforcements reached Winterfeld and, after an hour's desperate fighting, he was struck in the breast by a musket ball and fell, mortally wounded.

The Prussians drew off, slowly and in good order, at two o'clock in the afternoon; and soon afterwards the Austrians also retired, nothing having come of this useless battle save heavy loss to both sides, and the killing of one of Frederick's best and most trusted generals. It was not, however, without result; for Bevern, freed from the restraint of his energetic colleague, at once fell back to Schlesien, where he was more comfortable, near his magazines.

Keith sent for Fergus, on the evening when this bad news had arrived.

"I want you, lad, to undertake a dangerous service. Now that Winterfeld has been killed, the king is more anxious than ever as to the situation. It is enough to madden anyone. It is imperative that he should get to Erfurt, and fight the French. On the other hand, everything may go wrong with Bevern while he is away, to say nothing of other troubles. Cumberland is retreating to the sea; the Russians are ever gaining ground in East Prussia; there is nothing, now, to prevent the remaining French army from marching on Berlin; and the Swedes have issued from Stralsund. It may be that by this time Soubise has moved from Erfurt; and this is what, above all things, we want to know.

"You showed so much shrewdness, in your last adventure, that I believe you might get through this safely. Doubtless there are cavalry parties, far in advance of Erfurt, and these would have to be passed. The point is, will you undertake this mission, to go to Erfurt to ascertain the force there, and if possible their intentions, and bring us back word?"

"I shall be glad to try, marshal. There should be no difficulty about it. I shall, of course, go in disguise. I should not be likely to fall in with any of the enemy's cavalry patrols, till within a short distance of Erfurt; but should I do so, there would be little chance of their catching me, mounted as I am.

"I could leave my horse within a short distance of the town. Two or three hours would be sufficient to gather news of the strength of the force there, and the movements of any bodies of detached troops."

"Yes, you should have no great difficulty about that. A large proportion of the population are favourable to us and, being so near the frontier of Hanover, your accent and theirs must be so close that no one would suspect you of being aught but a townsman.

"Of course, the great thing is speed. We shall march from eighteen to twenty miles a day. You will be able to go fifty. That is to say, if you start at once you can be there in the morning; and on the following morning you can bring us back news."

An hour later Fergus, dressed as a small farmer, started. It was a main line of road, and therefore he was able to travel as fast, at night, as he would do in the day. There was the advantage, too, that the disparity between his attire and the appearance of the horse he rode would pass unnoticed, in the darkness. He had with him a map of the road, on a large scale; and beneath his cloak he carried a small lantern, so as to be able to make detours, to avoid towns where detachments of the enemy's cavalry might be lying.

He had started two hours after the troops halted, and had four hours of daylight still before him, which he made the most of, and by sunset he was within fifteen miles of Erfurt. So far, he had not left the main road; but he now learned, from some peasants, that there was a small party of French hussars at a place three miles ahead. He therefore struck off by a byroad and, travelling slowly along, turned off two hours later to a farmhouse, the lights from which had made him aware of its proximity.

He dismounted a hundred yards from it, fastened his horse loosely to a fence, and then went forward on foot, and peeped in cautiously at the window. It was well that he had taken the precaution, for the kitchen into which he looked contained a dozen French hussars. He retired at once, led his horse until he reached the road again, and then mounted.

Presently he met a man driving a cart.

"My friend," he said, "do you know of any place where a quiet man could put up, without running the risk of finding himself in the midst of these French and Confederacy troops?"

"'Tis not easy," the man replied, "for they are all over the country, pillaging and plundering. We are heartily sick of them, and there are not a few of us who would be glad, if the King of Prussia would come and turn them out, neck and crop."

"I don't care what sort of a place it is, so that I could put my horse up. It is a good one and, like enough, some of these fellows would take a fancy to it."

"I don't think that it would be safe in any farmhouse within ten miles of here; but if you like to come with me, my hut stands at the edge of a wood, and you could leave him there without much risk."

"Thank you, very much; that would suit me well. It is just what I had intended to do, but in the darkness I have no great chance of finding a wood.

"How far are we from Erfurt, now?"

"About five miles."

"That will do very well. I have some business to do there, and can go and come back by the afternoon."

In a quarter of an hour they arrived at the man's house. It was but a small place.

"Not much to rob here," his host said grimly. "They have taken my two cows, and all my poultry. My horse only escaped because they did not think him fit for anything.

"This is a stranger, wife," he went on, as a woman rose, in some alarm, from a stool upon which she was crouching by the fire. "He will stop here for the night and, though there is little enough to offer him, at least we can make him welcome."

He took a torch from the corner of the room, lighted it at the fire, and went out.

"You are right about your horse, my friend," he said; "and it is small chance you would have of taking him back with you, if any of these fellows set eyes on him. I see your saddlery hardly matches with your horse."

Fergus had indeed, before starting, taken off his saddle and other military equipments; and had replaced them with a common country saddle and bridle, adding a pair of rough wallets and the commonest of horse cloths, so as to disguise the animal as much as possible.

"I am sorry that I cannot give you a feed for the animal," the man went on; "but I have none, and my horse has to make shift with what he can pick up."

"I have one of my wallets full. I baited the horse at inns, as I came along. He may as well have a feed, before I take him out into the wood."

He poured a good feed onto a flat stone. As he did so, the peasant's horse lifted up his head and snuffed the air.

"You shall have some too, old boy," Fergus said; and going across, was about to empty some on to the ground before it, when its owner, taking off his hat, held it out.

"Put it into this," he said. "It is seldom, indeed, that he gets such a treat; and I would not that he should lose a grain."

Fergus poured a bountiful feed into the hat.

"Now," he said, "I can supplement your supper, as well as your horse's;" and from the other wallet he produced a cold leg of pork, that Karl had put in before he started; together with three loaves; and two bottles of wine, carefully done up in straw.

The peasant looked astonished, as Fergus took these out and placed them upon the table.

"No, no, sir," he said, "we cannot take your food in that way."

"You are heartily welcome to it," Fergus said. "If you do not assist me to eat it, it will be wasted. Tomorrow I shall breakfast at Erfurt, and maybe dine, also. I will start as soon as I get back."

"Well, well, sir, it shall be as you please," the man said; "but it seems that we are reversing our parts, and that you have become the host, and we your guests."

It was a pleasant meal by the torch light. Many a month had passed since the peasants had tasted meat; and the bread, fresh from the Prussian bakeries, was of a very different quality to the black oaten bread to which they were accustomed. A horn of good wine completed their enjoyment.

When the meal was done, the man said:

"Now, master, I will guide you to the wood."

There was no occasion to lead the horse; for it, as well as its companion, had been trained to follow their master like dogs, and to come to a whistle. The wood was but two or three hundred yards off, and the peasant led the way through the trees to a small open space in its centre. The saddle and bridle had been removed before they left the cottage; and Fergus tethered the horse, by a foot rope, to a sapling growing on the edge of the clearing. Then he patted it on the neck, and left it beginning to crop the short grass.

"It won't get much," the peasant said, "for my animal keeps it pretty short. It is his best feeding place, now; and I generally turn it out here, at night, when the day's work is done."

"What is its work, principally?"

"There is only one sort, now," the man said. "I cut faggots in the forest, and take a cart load into Erfurt, twice a week. I hope, by the spring, that all these troubles will be over, and then I cultivate two or three acres of ground; but so long as these French, and the Confederacy troops, who are as bad, are about, it is no use to think of growing anything.

"Now, sir, is there anything that I can do for you?" he went on, after they returned to the cottage, and had both lit their pipes and seated themselves by the fire.

"I can see that you are not what you look. A farmer does not ride about the country on a horse fit for a king, or put up at a cottage like this."

"Yes; you can help me by leading me by quiet paths to Erfurt. I tell you frankly that my business, there, is to find out how strong the French and Confederacy army is, in and around the town; also whether they are taking any precautions against an attack, and if there are any signs that they intend to enter Hanover, or to move towards Dresden."

"I daresay I can learn all that for you, without difficulty; for I supply several of the inns with faggots. There are troops quartered in all of them, and the helpers and servants are sure to hear what is going on. Not, of course, in the inns where the French are quartered, but where the German men are lodged. They speak plainly enough there, and indeed everyone knows that a great many of them are there against their will. The Hesse and Gotha and Dessau men would all prefer fighting on the Prussian side, but when they were called out they had to obey.

"At what time will you start?"

"I should like to get to Erfurt as soon as the place is astir."

"That is by five," the man said. "There is trumpeting and drumming enough by that time, and no one could sleep longer if they wanted to."

"Then we will start at dawn."

The peasant would have given up his bed to Fergus, but the latter would not hear of it, and said