He could not sleep.  Every nerve in him seemed to be alive.  One vivid picture after another floated before his mind.  The lake behind him grew dim.  Before him were the camp fires of the French, the wooden wall, the dark line of the forest and hills, and the crest of Defiance looking solemnly down on them.  Although held firmly there, within lines which one could not pass, nobody seemed to take any notice of him.  He could rest or watch as he chose, and he had no choice but to watch.

He saw the French lie down on their arms, save for the numerous sentinels posted everywhere, and after a while, though most of the night was gone, the ring of axes and the fall of trees ceased.  There was a hum of voices but that too died in time, and long after midnight, with his back against a tree, he dozed a little while.

He was awakened by a premonition, a warning out of the dark, and opening his eyes he saw Garay slinking near.  He did not know whether the spy meant another attempt upon his life, but, standing up, he stared at him intently.  Garay shrank away and disappeared in the further ranges of the camp.  Robert somehow was not afraid.  The man would not make such a trial again at so great a risk, and his mind turned back to its preoccupation, the great battle that was coming.

Near morning he dozed again for an hour or so, but he awoke before the summer dawn.  All his faculties were alive, and his body attuned when he saw the sun rise, bringing with it the momentous day.

CHAPTER XIV

TICONDEROGA

The French army rose with the sun, the drums beating the call to battle.  Montcalm stationed the battalions of Languedoc and La Sarre on the left with Bourlamaque to command them, on the right De Levis led the battalions of Bearn, Guienne and La Reine.  Montcalm himself stood with the battalion of Royal Roussillon in the center, and St. Luc was by his side.  Volunteers held the sunken ground between the breastwork and the outlet of Lake George, a strong force of regulars and Canadians was on the side of Lake Champlain under the guns of the fort there.  Then, having taken their places, all the parts of the army went to work again, strengthening the defenses with ax and spade, improving every moment that might be left.

All thought of escape left Robert’s mind in the mighty and thrilling drama that was about to be played before him.  Once more he stared at the long line of the lake, and then his whole attention was for the circling forest, and the hills.  That was where the army of his country lay.  Nothing was to be expected from the lake.  Victory would come from the woods, and he looked so long at the trees that they blurred together into one mass.  He knew that the English and Americans were near, but just how near he could not gather from those around him.

He brushed his eyes to clear them, and continued to study the forest.  The sun, great and brilliant, was flooding it with light, gilding the slopes and crests of Defiance, and tinging the green of the leaves with gold.  Nothing stirred there.  The wilderness seemed silent, as if men never fought in its depths.  Time went slowly on.  After all, the army might not advance to the attack that day.  If so, his disappointment would be bitter.  He wanted a great victory, and he wanted it at once.