urting into his
face; a minute later another ripped open the back of a poor fellow lying
to the front of him.

"His body seemed not to belong to himself at all. A strange, shrivelled
creature seemed to have taken possession of it. He raised his head, and
peered about him. He and three soldiers--youngsters, like himself, who
had never before been under fire--appeared to be utterly alone in that
hell. They were the end men of the regiment, and the configuration of
the ground completely hid them from their comrades.

"They glanced at each other, these four, and read each other's thoughts
in each other's eyes. Leaving their rifles lying on the grass, they
commenced to crawl stealthily upon their bellies, the lieutenant
leading, the other three following.

"Some few hundred yards in front of them rose a small, steep hill. If
they could reach this it would shut them out of sight. They hastened on,
pausing every thirty yards or so to lie still and pant for breath, then
hurrying on again, quicker than before, tearing their flesh against the
broken ground.

"At last they reached the base of the slope, and slinking a little way
round it, raised their heads and looked back. Where they were it was
impossible for them to be seen from the German lines.

"They sprang to their feet and broke into a wild race. A dozen steps
further they came face to face with an Austrian field battery.

"The demon that had taken possession of them had been growing stronger
and stronger the further and further they had fled. 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.

[Illustration: "COMMENCED TO CRAWL STEALTHILY."]

"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 b