‘You’re quite right,’ cried he, as he adjusted a telescope to his eye, and directed his view towards the plain. ‘He has gone wrong! He has taken the Strasbourg road, instead of the northern one.’
An exclamation of anger followed these words; and now I saw the telescope passed to another hand, and, to my astonishment, that of a lady.
‘Was there ever stupidity like that? He saw the map like the others, and yet—— Parbleu! it’s too bad!’
I could perceive that a female voice made some rejoinder, but did not distinguish the words; when the man again spoke—
‘No, no; it’s all a blunder of that old major; and here am I without an orderly to send after him. Diable! it is provoking.’
‘Isn’t that one of your people at the foot of the tower?’ said the lady, as she pointed to where I stood, praying for the earth to open and close over me; for, as he moved his head to look down, I saw the epaulettes of a staff-officer.
‘Holloa!’ cried he, ‘are you on duty?’
‘No, sir; I was——’
Not waiting for me to finish an explanation, he went on—
‘Follow that division of cavalry that has taken the Strasbourg road, and tell Major Roquelard that he has gone wrong; he should have turned off to the left at the suburbs. Lose no time, but away at once. You are mounted, of course?’