“It was a narrow escape, Mike; and if they had waited till I had got a little nearer, and had seen my uniform, I must have surrendered.”

“It seems to me that we are like rats in a trap, Mr. Kennedy.”

“Something like it, Mike; but it is hard if we can’t get through them, in the dark.”

“That we will do, sure enough,” Mike said confidently; “but which way should we go?”

“That I can’t tell you.  You see, they are in strength in front, Marlborough and Eugene are on the left and partly behind us, and the troops you saw come across the hills are somewhere in the rear.  If it were daylight, not a man of us would escape; but as it is, it will be hard if we cannot make our way through.

“What I am thinking about chiefly, at present, is the safety of O’Sullivan, O’Neil, and d’Eyncourt.  They ought to have been here as soon as we were.  They may either have lost their way in the darkness, or fallen into the hands of the enemy.  However, I shall not give them up for another half hour.”

The firing was now abating, and presently died away completely; except for a few scattered shots, showing that the allies had been halted where they stood, and were no longer pressing forward.  Another hour passed, and Desmond’s comrades were still absent.

In the meantime, the general had called together the colonels of the several regiments, had explained the situation to them, and repeated Vendome’s orders.  The news came like a thunderbolt upon them, for the din of firing round the village had completely deadened all distant sound, and they were wholly unaware of what was passing in other parts of the field.

“I must leave the matter to your individual discretion,” the general said.  “Those of you who think your men can be relied on, can try to escape and join the marshal in a body.  Those who have not that confidence in their regiments—­and indeed some of these have been almost annihilated—­had best tell them to scatter.  Those who remain here will assuredly be made prisoners in the morning.

“It is possible that that may be the better plan, for it is better to surrender than to be cut to pieces.  I therefore leave the matter entirely in your hands.  I myself shall remain here.  We have done all that men can do in the way of fighting, and, as I was told to hold this place till the last, I shall remain at my post.”

Desmond was present when this conversation took place.

“We will wait another hour, Mike,” he said, as he rejoined his follower.  “We may be sure that the greater part of the enemy’s troops will be asleep by that time.  They must have made a tremendous march, for the news last night was that they were twenty miles away; and they have been fighting twelve hours.  After such work as that, the men will drop down to sleep as soon as they have halted.”

“Shall we go on horse or on foot, your honour?”

“I think the best plan will be to lead our horses, Mike, across this country.  It would seem natural to do so, and once through them, we could then gallop round and join the troops on the plateau.”