The Red, White, and Green Part 18

He was looking a trifle thinner, but in good health, and related with much glee his experiences with the general. According to his account, he lived almost entirely in the saddle, slept at odd times where he could, ate what he could pick up, and had not once taken off his clothes since we left him.

Of the general he spoke enthusiastically.

"Gorgei never gets tired," he said. "He is made of iron, and can do without sleep. As to riding, I never saw any one like him. After a day's hard work he'll jump into the saddle and ride to the outposts at full gallop on a pitch-dark night and in the stormiest weather. At first I used to ache in every muscle, but I'm getting used to it. Now I'm off to Kremnitz."

For several days longer we remained at Waitzen picking up recruits from the north, and then moved on towards Kremnitz.

Rakoczy and I had been regularly appointed as major and lieutenant in the 9th Honved regiment, the men of which were well equipped and in fairly good spirits.

The recruits had brought our numbers up to about twenty thousand; and, leaving Kremnitz, we marched in a south-west direction to make Windischgratz believe we were striking at Vienna. In this we succeeded, and thus prevented the Austrian general from crushing our main army, then in full retreat to Debreczin, behind the Theiss.

Having accomplished his object, Gorgei once more broke fresh ground, and led us into the mountains, in order to draw off a part of the Austrian force, and, by a round-about route, to rejoin the princ.i.p.al army.

I was certainly serving a rough apprenticeship to the trade of war.

The roads were covered with ice, the valleys were piled with snow through which we had to force a pa.s.sage, sometimes being sunk in it almost to our arm-pits; and as we stumbled along, huge avalanches thundered down the rocky cliffs that on either side overhung our path.

The majority of the soldiers, having newly joined, lost their spirits, which made the officers' work much harder; but we kept them going somehow, and struggled up and through the narrow defiles with the Austrians in our rear, and, for aught we knew, in front as well.

At the beginning of the last week in January, the frost broke up quite suddenly, and the narrow valleys were flooded by water, which swept through the gorges, carrying with it great pieces of floating ice.

As our regiment led the way, we were the first to bear the brunt of this new danger.

"Steady, men!" cried Rakoczy. "Plant your feet firmly on the ground and lock arms, or you'll be carried away."

The men responded instantly, but for a long time they could make no headway against the torrent.

Again and again we led them forward, but each time it was only for a few paces.

The noise of the rushing waters, the blows from detached pieces of ice, the difficulty of securing a foothold, told on the men's nerves, and kept them from fronting the danger.

The colonel stormed, Rakoczy begged and prayed, taunted them with cowardice, mocked at their fears, and called them frightened children--all in vain; forward they would not go.

The general himself tried, and failed to put heart into them. Then he whispered something to Stephen, who, with a smile, turned and disappeared.

Suddenly there came a shout from the rear, feeble at first, but rapidly increasing in volume.

"Push on! Quick! Quick! The Austrians are on us! The enemy! The enemy!"

The greater danger swallowed up the less. The very dullest recruit could understand what would happen if the Austrians attacked us in that horrible defile, and in a short time we were boldly striding through the torrent. Those who would have lagged behind were dragged on by their companions; and so, fighting, pushing, struggling, shouting, we won our way bit by bit till we had safely pa.s.sed the most dangerous places.

However, the Austrians did not put in an appearance; and when I asked Rakoczy what had become of them, he laughed gaily.

"Gone back to where they came from, most likely!" he said.

"Where's that?"

"Gorgei's brain."

"What? Was it simply a trick?"

"Ask Stephen when you get a chance; he ought to know."

"And I've been expecting every minute to see the blaze of their guns from the heights!"

"Wait till we get nearer the summit; that's where the real danger lies.

The Austrian Schlick is coming down post-haste from Galicia, and he's a tough fighter."

Three days after this conversation the truth of these words was brought home to us in a very striking manner.

Gorgei, who, as usual, was in advance, had sent forward his scouts. A few light guns, which by incredible labour had been dragged up the defiles, came next, and were followed by the 9th Honved regiment.

Several other regiments followed at intervals, while the others were ascending by different routes, keeping in touch, however, with the main body, and all converging on one pa.s.s, which it was hoped the Austrians had not seized.

Unfortunately, Schlick had been too quick for us, and the scouts returned with the information that the mouth of the pa.s.s was blocked by huge boulders, behind which a formidable body of troops with heavy guns was stationed.

The regiment halted; Gorgei went to reconnoitre, and at once the artillery were ordered to advance, with the 9th in support. The men were weary and footsore, half-starved, numbed with cold, depressed by this everlasting retreat, and I doubted very much if they were equal to the work in front of them.

Suddenly the great guns thundered out, and our own replied; the unequal artillery duel had begun.

We moved up steadily, and the sharpshooters, running forward and getting whatever cover they could, picked off the Austrian gunners.

Our own artillerymen worked their pieces bravely, but were altogether overmatched.

The place must be taken by storm, and the a.s.sault fell to the share of the 9th.

I thought of the barricade in the Prater, and remembered how I had pitied the brave fellows who had thrown away their lives in the attempt to carry it.

Now I was in a similar position, and my heart beat quickly as I stood there waiting for the word of command.

The men, for the most part, looked downcast, as if they did not enjoy the prospect, and indeed it was a terrible trial for young troops.

Rakoczy's handsome face lit up with his usual smile as he nodded to me pleasantly.

At length the artillery fire on our side ceased, the word rang out, the regiment moved forward.

The order was that no man should stop to fire; but our fellows were not veterans, and it was disregarded.

Still, considering that hardly one of us had been under fire before, we did not do so badly.

Gorgei gave us a cheer as we pa.s.sed the staff; Stephen waved his hand to me, and we were gone.

Into the mouth of the pa.s.s we rushed, so close to the great boulders that we could distinctly see the muzzles of the black guns.

"Forward!" cried the colonel, waving his sword.

"Forward!" echoed Rakoczy, still smiling; and we ran with such speed that the first discharge checked only those who fell.

The second threw us into some disorder. The colonel was killed outright by a cannon-ball, but Rakoczy took command and led us on gallantly.