Görgei sprang out briskly, and held a hurried conversation with the leader of the party. Then he directed a soldier to give me his horse, mounted his own--a beautiful grey--and we all set off for headquarters.
The appearance of the army confirmed my feeling of despondency. The men who had served throughout the campaign were in good trim, but those newly drafted to make up for our previous losses looked anything but soldiers.
I discovered, too, that the officers were secretly uneasy, and their anxiety increased when, a few days after my arrival, Görgei's scouts brought word that a Russian division had joined Haynau at Presburg.
This was on the fourteenth of June, and two days later witnessed the beginning of what may be called the second campaign.
Our engineers had built several bridges over the river Waag, and on the fifteenth of June the army crossed to the farther side.
"Ah!" exclaimed one of my new comrades regretfully, "if we could have done this a month ago!"
"We should be in Vienna now," said another gaily; "but we aren't, and it's no use grumbling. Here comes Bethlen. Klapka has sent him with an important message, to judge by the state of his horse's flanks."
The rider approached at a gallop, pulled his horse up sharply, and having saluted, handed a note to Görgei.
The general, glancing at the contents, put the crumpled paper into his pocket.
"Tell General Klapka I'm much obliged, but I don't think anything serious will happen to-morrow."