They were not men, they were animals mad with
fear. Driven by the same frenzy that prompted other panic-stricken
creatures to once rush down a steep place into the sea, these four men,
with a yell, flung themselves, sword in hand, upon the whole battery; and
the whole battery, bewildered by the suddenness and unexpectedness of the
attack, thinking the entire battalion was upon them, gave way, and rushed
pell-mell down the hill.
"With the sight of those flying Austrians the fear, as independently as
it had come to him, left him, and he felt only a desire to hack and kill.
The four Prussians flew after them, cutting and stabbing at them as they
ran; and when the Prussian cavalry came thundering up, they found my
young lieutenant and his three friends had captured two guns and
accounted for half a score of the enemy.
"Next day, he was summoned to headquarters.
"'Will you be good enough to remember for the future, sir,' said the
Chief of the Staff, 'that His Majesty does not require his lieutenants to
execute manoeuvres on their own responsibility, and also that to attack a
battery with three men is not war, but damned tomfoolery. You ought to
be court-martialled, sir!'
"Then, in somewhat different tones, the old soldier added, his face
softening into a smile: 'However, alertness and daring, my young friend,
are good qualities, especially when crowned with success.
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