gh one was as prudent and careful of the lives of his
troops as the other was impetuous and careless at what cost he won his
victories, they worked together with a harmony that could have hardly
been expected among men so differently constituted. Although, in
the subsequent wars of the Fronde they took different sides, their
friendship, except during a short period of alienation, was never
shaken, and their admiration for each other's genius never abated.

Yours sincerely,

G.A. HENTY

CHAPTER I: A STROKE OF GOOD FORTUNE

A mounted officer, followed by two orderlies, was proceeding at a brisk
trot from Paris to St. Denis, in October, 1639, when he came upon a
large party of boys, who, armed with sticks, were advancing in something
like military order against a wall on the top of a low hill.

"What are you doing?" he asked the lad who appeared to be the leader.

"We are playing at war, sir. We are advancing against the fortress of La
Motte. This is the regiment of Turenne."

"And who are you at other times?" the officer asked with a smile.

"My name is Hector Campbell, sir."

"Then you are not French?"

"No, sir; my father was an officer in the Scotch regiment. He was killed
at the siege of La Rochelle."

"And who is taking care of you?"

"I live with Angus MacIntosh. He was a sergeant in my father's company.
He was badly wounded at La Rochelle, and not being fit for further
service, he took a cabaret near the barracks. The officers are very
kind. They allow him a sum for taking care of me. Of course I am often
in barracks, and have learned the drill, and I have heard and read about
battles and sieges, so I am chosen to command."

"And so you know something of the battles in which Turenne was engaged?"

"I think I know about them all, sir, both in Holland and on the Rhine,
and have seen plans of the battles. Of course this is not at all like
La Motte, which was on the top of a high rock, so that when Turenne was
ordered to attack with his regiment after the general's son had failed,
he had to pass not only through a heavy fire, but through the huge
stones that the enemy hurled down. It was grand; and he did well at
all the other sieges. Then, again, there was Saverne. See how he
fought there, and stormed the place when even the Swedes, who are good
soldiers, had failed. I think he is going to be the greatest of our
captains."

"Turenne is only a learner in the art of war," the other said gravely