"
"We shall, if there's plenty to do," George assented with a smile.
There was plenty to do. At the very moment when the boy and Lieutenant
Fieldsend arrived, the Duke had given orders to prepare for another
long march, and within a couple of days George found himself one of a
large body of troops heading for the Rhine valley. A halt was called
before Landau, and the siege of this stronghold began. The affair
proved to be a slow business, the attacking force being very short of
military material. Days passed; the fortress stood firm, no apparent
impression being made at all.
"I dare wager the Duke won't stand cooling at this job," remarked
Matthew to George and Fieldsend one evening. The latter with his
regiment was assisting in the siege, and he had already taken a great
liking for Matthew Blackett, a liking Matthew was not slow to
reciprocate.
The prophecy was not far wrong. Almost before dawn the very next
morning Marlborough was marching, with twelve thousand men, largely
cavalry, towards the Queich valley, across a bit of country that for
badness could hardly be matched even in the wilds of Connemara. On man
and horse tramped, till the ancient city of Treves was reached. The
Duke prepared for a siege, but he was saved the trouble.
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