Louis d'Arragon made a sudden effort and rose to his feet, beneathwhich the snow squeaked.

"Come," he exclaimed. "If we stay, we shall fall asleep, and then--"

Barlasch roused himself and looked sleepily at his companion. Hehad a patch of black on either cheek.

"Come!" shouted Louis, as if to a deaf man. "Let us go on to Kowno,and find out whether he is alive or dead."

CHAPTER XX. DESIREE'S CH0ICE.

0ur wills and fates do so contrary run, That our devices still are overthrown. 0ur thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own.

Rapp found himself in a stronghold which was strong in theory only.For the frozen river formed the easiest possible approach, insteadof an insuperable barrier to the enemy. He had an army which was apaper army only.

He had, according to official returns, thirty-five thousand men. Inreality a bare eight thousand could be collected to show a face tothe enemy. The rest were sick and wounded. There was no nationalspirit among these men; they hardly had a language in common. Forthey were men from Africa and Italy, from France, Germany, Poland,Spain, and Holland. The majority of them were recruits, raw and ofpoor physique. All were fugitives, flying before those dreadCossacks whose "hurrah! hurrah!"--the Arabic "kill! kill!"--hauntedtheir fitful sleep at evening. They came to Dantzig not to fight, butto lie down and rest. They were the last of the great army--thereinforcements dragged to the frontier which many of them had nevercrossed. For those who had been to Moscow were few and far between.The army of Moscow had perished at Malo-Jaroslavetz, at theBeresina, in Smolensk and Vilna.