Fergus ran round to the low range of sheds in which their horses were stabled.
"Karl, are you there?" he shouted.
"Yes, major," a voice said, close at hand. "I am listening to all that firing."
"Saddle up at once. You may as well ride with me. I am going to see what it is all about."
A lantern was burning in the shed, and by its light Fergus and the orderly rapidly saddled the horses.
"You had better light two more lanterns, Karl. Leave the one on the wall burning. We will take the others. We shall want them, for one cannot see a horse's length away; and if we had not the sound of firing to guide us, we should soon lose our way altogether."
The light enabled them to go at a fairly fast trot, but they trusted rather to their horses' than to their own eyes. The roar and rattle of the firing increased in volume, every minute.
"That is more than an affair with the Croats, Karl."
"A good deal more, major. It looks as if the Austrians were beating up our quarters in earnest."
"It does indeed."