barring up the doors.

"Them's the light companies of the Guards," said the sergeant. "They'll
hold that farm while one of them can wag a finger. But look over yonder
and you'll see the camp fires of the French."

We looked across the valley at the low ridge upon the further side, and
saw a thousand little yellow points of flame with the dark smoke
wreathing up in the heavy air. There was another farm-house on the
further side of the valley, and as we looked we suddenly saw a little
group of horsemen appear on a knoll beside it and stare across at us.
There were a dozen Hussars behind, and in front five men, three with
helmets, one with a long straight red feather in his hat, and the last
with a low cap.

"By God!" cried the sergeant, "that's him! That's Boney, the one with
the grey horse. Aye, I'll lay a month's pay on it."

I strained my eyes to see him, this man who had cast that great shadow
over Europe, which darkened the nations for five-and-twenty years, and
which had even fallen across our out-of-the-world little sheep-farm, and
had dragged us all--myself, Edie, and Jim--out of the lives that our
folk had lived before us. As far as I could see, he was a dumpy
square-shouldered kind of man, and he held his double glasses to his
eyes with his elbows spread very wide out on each side. I was still
staring when I heard the catch of a man's breath by my side, and there
was Jim with his eyes glowing like two coals, and his face thrust over
my shoulder.

"That's he, Jock," he whispered.