"I must inform our colonel of that. Come along with me," and they
pushed past the troopers until they arrived at the head of the
column, when the officer reported to the colonel.

"Donner Blitzen!" the latter exclaimed, "it is well that we learned
this news, for we should have fared very ill if we had come upon
horse and foot together. The Poitou regiment! That is the one that
we heard beat back our charges so often at Freiburg, and they say
the best regiment in the French service. It is no use our going
farther; we might well fall into an ambush, and in these lanes they
could shoot us down helplessly. We will move on quietly until we
get to a place where there is space enough for us to dismount and
bivouac. We could not have gone many more miles, for if we did we
should be a regiment without horses tomorrow morning."

They proceeded very slowly and cautiously until, when they came
upon an open tract of ground, the colonel ordered them to dismount
and sound the trumpets. His regiment, like those of Turenne, had
been broken up, and he had but half a squadron with him. In an
hour the whole regiment was assembled; a few fires were lighted,
but most of the men threw themselves down by their horses and at
once went off to sleep. The colonel and his officers sat down at
one of the fires, where Hector was requested to join them.

"I suppose that your regiment took no part in the battle?"

"No, sir; we were some way from Marienthal, and I received orders
only after the day was lost, to join Marshal Turenne and his
cavalry on the Tauber. We arrived on the river just at sunset,