"Who's he?"
"Oh, mother, you ought to know by this time. He it was, you know, that was the principal cause of the Tyrol being separated from Austria, and that lately said, 'With two regiments of cavalry added to his infantry, he would cut every one of us ragamuffins down.'"
"Ah, no good ever comes of brag."
"Well, I don't know about that," said Franz, running his fingers through his rough hair; "but no good came of it to him this time, at any rate. He had already got two bullets in his body, they say; but as soon as his house was attacked, he rushed forth, waving his sword over his head. A third ball then struck him near the heart; blood came out of his mouth, and down he came upon his knees. Some of our men hastened up to take him prisoner; he turns about his head, and faintly calls to his men, 'You dogs, don't be cowards,' or something to that purpose; and evidently did not even then give in. Whizz! comes another bullet, which hits him in the head, and lays him along the ground."
"Well, Franz, he died like a soldier—"
"Mother, he isn't dead yet—Don't you hurry me—We then captured him and carried him off to the guard-house—"
"You?"
"Not exactly I, but our people. And there, as he lay, ready to die from loss of blood, says he to one of our fellows—Rudolf, in fact,—'Who is your leader, young man?'—'We've none in particular,' says Rudolf,—which was true enough, only he needed not to have exposed us so, just then, for no good, to a man of the Colonel's quality, who, of course, thought it very despicable of us. If I'd been Rudolf, I'd have clapped a dozen names together, mother, and said 'that's our commander.'"
"Then thou wouldst have been a fool, Franz,—and thou art little better. Well, is that all?"
"No—'We've no chief in particular,' says Rudolf—the ninny!—'We all,' says he, 'fight for God,' says he, 'and for our Emperor, and our fatherland,' says he. 'One for all, and all for one,' says he."