Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 3, 2025
With my eyes fixed on the chink of the door, I waited, hour after hour, for the daylight.... When dawn broke I had already got Wattrelot and a couple of railwaymen who were still in the station to bring my horse-box up to the platform. The three horses were quickly saddled and ready to start.
The freshness of the morning and the joy of feeling firm ground under their feet again made them uncommonly lively. Indeed, Wattrelot came near feeling the effects of their good spirits somewhat uncomfortably as he was getting into the saddle. At last we started at a quick trot along a white and dusty road which led straight across fields still bathed in shadow.
He added no comments of his own, and I did not feel equal to any reply. Full of foreboding, I returned to my train and Wattrelot. He had heard what the engine-driver had told me, and he said not a word, but looked out into the distance at the fiery sky. We sat down side by side and said nothing. So we were retreating. Then all our calculations and dreams were shattered.
And I seem to see you still, going up the great wooden staircase, lit up by the flickering flame of the candle, when you and Sister Elizabeth gave up your beds so simply and unostentatiously to the two unknown soldiers. "Mon Lieutenant mon Lieutenant, it's two o'clock." My faithful Wattrelot held the flickering candle just in front of my eyes to rouse me.
Suddenly my heart began to beat faster, and I rose with a nervous movement. Wattrelot too had started up from the straw he had been lying on. We both exclaimed in one breath: "Cannon!" It was a mere distant growl, hardly audible, and yet it was distinct enough to be a subdued accompaniment to the thousand noises a train makes as it goes along.
I expect I shall come into the middle of the fight when I get over that ridge. Shall I duck my head when I hear the bullets whistling and the shrapnel bursting around me? I am determined to play the man. I know Wattrelot is close by, trotting behind me. He mustn't see the least symptom of nervousness in me." The noise of the guns became louder. "By the way!... I wonder what Wattrelot feels like!"
As soon as we appeared a violent fusillade burst from the outskirts of the village, which forced us to beat a rapid retreat. There was no longer any doubt about it; Courgivault was occupied, and occupied in strength. Under the shelter of a bank I quickly dismounted, and Wattrelot took my horse's bridle.
Wattrelot and I were overcome by a kind of religious emotion; we felt as though we were already breathing the air of battle. At about six o'clock we arrived at the station of L., where the train stopped for a few minutes. The platforms were crowded with Staff officers. A soldier assured me that the chief Headquarters were here.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking