him, Kniphausen being in
command. They took up a position in a little village a few miles from
the town; and here, at four o'clock in the morning, they were attacked
by the Imperialists, 7000 strong. The Swedish infantry fled almost
without firing a shot, but the Scottish musketeers of Hepburn and Reay
stood their ground.

For a time a desperate conflict raged. In the darkness it was utterly
impossible to distinguish friend from foe, and numbers on both sides
were mown down by the volleys of their own party. In the streets and
gardens of the little village men fought desperately with pikes and
clubbed muskets. Unable to act in the darkness, and losing many men from
the storm of bullets which swept over the village, the Swedish cavalry
who had accompanied the column turned and fled; and being unable to
resist so vast a superiority of force, Kniphausen gave the word, and the
Scotch fell slowly back under cover of the heavy mist which rose with
the first breath of day, leaving 500 men, nearly half their force, dead
behind them.

Nigel Graheme's company had suffered severely; he himself was badly
wounded. A lieutenant and one of the ensigns were killed, with thirty of
the men, and many others were wounded with pike or bullet. Malcolm had
had his share of the fighting. Several times he and the men immediately
round him had been charged by the Imperialists, but their long pikes had
each time repulsed the assaults.

Malcolm had before this come to the conclusion, from the anecdotes he
heard from the officers who had served through several campaigns, that
the first quality of an officer is coolness, and that this is even more
valuable than is reckless bravery. He had therefore set before himself
that his first duty in action was to be perfectly calm, to speak without
hurry or excitement in a quiet and natural tone.

In his first fight at Schiefelbrune he had endeavoured to carry this
out, but although he gained much commendation from Nigel and the other
officers of the company for his coolness on that occasion, he had by no
means satisfied himself; but upon the present occasion he succeeded
much better in keeping his natural feelings in check, forcing himself to
speak in a quiet and deliberate way without flurry or excitement, and in
a tone of voice in no way raised above the ordinary. The effect had been
excellent, and the soldiers, in talking over the affair next day, were
loud in their praise of the conduct of the young