The man made a sign of ignorance. Nothing more could be got out of him. Just at that moment a shell came hissing through the air, and he at once made off at full speed, crouching as he ran. A few dislocated words came back to us over his shoulder:
"Ah! Bon Dieu de bon Dieu!"
The shell burst on the other side of the road, and the moment after three others exploded nearer still. The Captain had not ceased to follow through his glasses the doubtful troops which, by now, had nearly reached the woods. We waited anxiously, standing in a circle round him.
"I believe they're French," said he. "Here, Lintier, have a look! You've got good eyes."
Through the glasses I was able to distinguish the red of the breeches.
"Yes, they're French, sir. But where are they going to?"
The Captain made no reply, and I understood that once again our army was in retreat.
A shower of shells poured down on the field behind us.
The enemy's fire, too much to the left and too high at first, was getting nearer, and was now corrected as far as training went. Our lives depended on the whim of a Prussian Captain and a slight correction for elevation.