d, and the girths of his saddle tight.

"It will be a sharp piece of work for us, and some good sword play
before it is done."

Suddenly from the wood a line of cavalry emerged, followed by
another and still another, till at least three regiments were on
the side of the hill, and behind them it was evident there was a
large body of troops. By this time the staff had taken alarm, and
an officer had galloped up with orders that the English volunteers
and Dutch cavalry should deploy to the right, and orders were also
sent to the Spaniards in the rear to advance rapidly and cover the
baggage. The Dutch troops in front who had entered the defile were
arrested, and began to march back, and an urgent message was sent
to the Imperialists to follow the Dutch in case the French should
make a general attack. Before the Dutch troops had returned to the
open, and long before the Imperialists could be in action, the
French, crossing the hill with immense rapidity and covered by a
screen of cavalry, attacked the Spanish rear-guard before it was
able to take up a proper form of defence, and though the Spaniards
fought with their accustomed courage, and no blame could be
attached to the dispositions made in haste by Vaudemont, this
division of the army was absolutely routed, and one distinguished
Spanish general, the Marquis of Assentar, was killed when cheering his
men to the defence. The defeat of the Spaniards left the baggage
train unprotected, and the French troops fell upon it with great
zest: indeed, Claverhouse that night declared that the Highlanders
themselves could not have raided more heartily or more swiftly. Nor
did the Spaniards, when once they had been beaten and scattered,
and fighting was no longer of any use, disdain to help themselves to
the plunder. Grimond was furious as he saw his wagon in danger, and
endeavored to rally some odds and ends of flying Spaniards and
terrified wagon-drivers to defend his cherished possessions. But he
was left to do so himself, and after beating off the two first
Frenchmen who came to investigate, and being wounded in a general
fight with the next lot, he was obliged to leave the possessions of
the English volunteers to their fate and set off to discover how it
fared with his master.

The Battle of Sineffe was to last all day, and before evening the two
armies would be generally engaged; eighteen thousand men were to fall
on both sides, and there were to be many hot encounters, but