His fellow-gunner, also an old reservist who had served with the battery before, chuckled as he answered,
"Our silent general has fooled them. General Leman has reached here with the Third Division."
"But the Third was at Diest, eighty miles away, the day before yesterday!" exclaimed the master.
"It is here now, and taking up positions. And the Germans, for all their spies, don't know it. They'll try to rush the forts to-morrow, expecting to find them lightly held, and then we'll pepper them finely."
"How many men does that give us here at Liége?" the master asked.
"About twenty-two thousand."
"And the Germans?"
"Three army corps, probably; a hundred thousand men, at least,[4] and as many more as they like to bring."
"And all confident of breaking through?"
"Quite," said the other, nodding. "There was a young German officer captured yesterday at Visé who jeered at the mere idea of our daring to oppose them.