proud of you. You have the knack of your kinsman
Keith of entering into the king's humours; of being a bright
companion when he is in a good temper, and of holding your tongue
when he is put out; of expressing your opinion frankly, and yet
never familiarly; and your freshness and hopefulness often, I see,
cheer the king, whose Prussians cannot, for their lives, help being
stiff and formal, or get to talk with him as if he were a human
being like themselves.

"Next to Keith and myself, I think that there is no one with whom
the king can distract his mind so completely as with you. To him it
is like getting a whiff of the fresh air from our Scottish hills.
He told the surgeon to see that you were sent down with the first
batch of wounded officers."

The next day, accordingly, while the two armies were watching each
other and the cannon were growling, Fergus was taken down to
Frankfort.

Zorndorf was fought on the 25th of August; and on the 2nd of
September Frederick started with the army for Saxony, where Prince
Maurice had been sorely pressed by Daun and the newly-raised army
of the Confederates, and had had to take post on some heights a
short distance from Dresden.

"A bad job, major," Karl grumbled as he brought the news to Fergus,
who was quartered in a private house. "The king has gone to have a
slap at Daun; and here are we, left behind. If he would have waited
another fortnight, we might have been with him."

"Perhaps we shall get there in time yet, Karl. You may be sure that
as soon as Daun hears that the king is coming he will, as usual,
begin to fortify himself; and it will need no small amount of
marching and counter-marching to get him to come out and give
battle. He was slow and cautious before, but after Leuthen he is
likely to be doubly so.

"However, I will get a tailor here today to measure me for a new
uniform. What with blood, and your cutting my breeches to get at my
leg, I must certainly get a new outfit before I rejoin.

"I hope I shall be with the marshal again. It is a good deal more
lively with him than it is with the king's staff; who, although no
doubt excellent soldiers, are certainly not lively companions. I do
hope there will be no great battle until we get there. I should
think I might start in a week."

The surgeon, however, would not hear of this; and it was the end of
the third week in September before Fergus rode from Frankfort. The
news from the south was so far satisfacto