m; the forward movement had been
arrested; the 1st corps was being directed on Terron, the 5th on
Buzancy, while the 12th was to remain at Chene and constitute our second
line. Then the suspense became more breathless still; it was to be no
mere skirmish that the peaceful valley of the Aisne was to witness that
day, but a great battle, in which would participate the entire
army, that was even now turning its back upon the Meuse and marching
southward; and there was no making of soup, the men had to content
themselves with coffee and hard-tack, for everyone was saying, without
troubling himself to ask why, that the "wipe of the dish-clout" was set
down for midday. An aide-de-camp had been dispatched to the marshal to
urge him to hurry forward their supports, as intelligence received from
every quarter made it more and more certain that the two Prussian armies
were close at hand, and three hours later still another officer galloped
off like mad toward Chene, where general headquarters were located,
with a request for instructions, for consternation had risen to a higher
pitch then ever with the receipt of fresh tidings from the _maire_ of
a country commune, who told of having seen a hundred thousand men at
Grand-Pre, while another hundred thousand were advancing by way of
Buzancy.

Midday came, and not a sign of the Prussians. At one o'clock, at two,
it was the same, and a reaction of lassitude and doubt began to prevail
among the troops. Derisive jeers were heard at the expense of the
generals: perhaps they had seen their shadow on the wall; they should be
presented with a pair of spectacles. A pretty set of humbugs they were,
to have caused all that trouble for nothing! A fellow who passed for a
wit among his comrades shouted:

"It is like it was down there at Mulhausen, eh?"

The words recalled to Maurice's mind a flood of bitter memories. He
thought of that idiotic flight, that panic that had swept away the 7th
corps when there was not a German visible, nor within ten leagues of
where they were, and now he had a distinct certainty that they were
to have a renewal of that experience. It was plain that if twenty-four
hours had elapsed since the skirmish at Grand-Pre and they had not
been attacked, the reason was that the 4th hussars had merely struck up
against a reconnoitering body of cavalry; the main body of the Prussians
must be far away, probably a day's march or two. Then the thought
suddenly struck him of the