The king was at Revel when this engagement took place, and, although but few of the troops had arrived, he was too impatient for action to wait until the coming of the fleet.  He therefore marched to Wesenberg, with his bodyguard and a few troops from Revel.  He at once despatched a thousand men, to cover the frontier, and issued orders for the rest of the troops to leave the whole of their baggage behind them, to take three days’ provision in their haversacks, and to prepare to march the next morning.

Major Jamieson came into the cottage, occupied by Captain Jervoise and his officers, late in the evening.  They had a blazing fire, for it was now the middle of November, and the nights were very sharp.

“Well, Jervoise, what do you think of the orders?” he asked, as he seated himself on a log that had been brought in for the fire.

“I have not thought much about them, except that we are going to do a long and quick march somewhere.”

“And where is that somewhere, do you think?”

“That, I have not the slightest idea.”

“You would not say that it was to Narva?”

“I certainly should not, considering that we have but five thousand infantry, and three thousand cavalry, and of these a large number have been so weakened, by fever, as to be unfit for fighting; while at Narva, report says there are eighty thousand Russians, in a strongly intrenched camp.”

“Well, that is where we are going, Jervoise, nevertheless.  At least, that is what the colonel has told me.”

“He must have been surely jesting, major.  We may be going to push forward in that direction, and occupy some strong position until the army comes up, but it would be the height of madness to attack an enemy, in a strong position, and just tenfold our force.”

“Well, we shall see,” Jamieson said coolly.  “It is certain that Narva cannot hold out much longer, and I know that the king has set his heart on relieving it; but it does seem somewhat too dangerous an enterprise to attack the Russians.  At any rate, that is the direction in which we are going, tomorrow.  It is a good seventy miles distant, and, as they say that the whole country has been devastated, and the villagers have all fled, it is evident that when the three days’ bread and meat we carry are exhausted we shall have to get some food, out of the Russian camp, if nowhere else.”

Captain Jervoise laughed, as did the others.

“We can live for a short time on the horses, Jamieson, if we are hard pushed for it, though most of them are little beyond skin and bone.”

“That is true.  The cavalry are certainly scarcely fit for service.  Welling’s troops have had a very hard time of it, and we may thank our stars, though we did not think so at the time, that we were kept nearly three months at Malmoe, instead of being here with Welling.”

“But do you seriously think, major, that the king means to attack the Russians?” Cunningham asked.