va," the other said
thoughtfully. "Why do you think we were beaten in the horrible way
we were?--because the Russians are no cowards."

"No; they made a gallant stand when they recovered from their
surprise," Charlie agreed. "But in the first place, they were taken
by surprise."

"They ought not to have been," the doctor said angrily. "They had
news, two days before, brought by the cavalry, who ought to have
defended that pass, but didn't."

"Still, it was a surprise when we attacked," Charlie said, "for
they could not suppose that the small body they saw were going to
assail them. Then, we had the cover of that snowstorm, and they did
not see us, until we reached the edge of the ditch. Of course, your
general ought to have made proper dispositions, and to have
collected the greater part of his troops at the spot facing us,
instead of having them strung out round that big semicircle, so
that, when we made an entry they were separated, and each half was
ignorant of what the other was doing. Still, even then they might
have concentrated between the trenches and the town. But no orders
had been given. The general was one of the first we captured. The
others waited for the orders that never came, until it was too
late. If the general who commanded on the left had massed his
troops, and marched against us as we were attacking the position
they held on their right, we should have been caught between two
fires."

"It was a badly managed business, altogether," Doctor Michaeloff
growled; "but we shall do better next time. We shall understand
Charles's tactics better. We reckoned on his troops, but we did not
reckon on him.

"Kelly tells me that you would not care to change service."

"My friends are in the Swedish army, and I am well satisfied with
the service. I daresay, if Russia had been nearer England than
Sweden is, and we had landed there first, we should have been as
glad to enter the service of the czar as we were to join that of
King Charles. Everyone says that the czar makes strangers welcome,
and that he is a liberal master to those who serve him well. As to
the quarrel between them, I am not old enough to be able to give my
opinion on it, though, as far as I am concerned, it seems to me
that it was not a fair thing for Russia to take advantage of
Sweden's being at war with Denmark and Augustus of Saxony, to fall
upon her without any cause of quarrel."

"Nations move less by morality than interest," Doctor