opinion that the enemy would take his stand on the opposite bank of the
Marne, which, he told them, was only half a mile ahead. To-morrow there
would be a fight, the like of which neither they nor any one else had
seen before.

They were disturbed that night, not indeed by the fear of what to-morrow
might hold in store, but by a small stampede of escaped horses, who
careered madly over the sleeping lines, injuring one man very severely.




CHAPTER XVIII

THE CROSSING OF THE MARNE


As soon as dawn broke--a dawn exceptionally cold and cheerless--the
cavalry pushed forward to effect some sort of reconnaissance. Meanwhile
the infantry had nothing better to do than to conceal themselves behind
the copses that covered the slope, and await their turn. In about an
hour's time they were deployed and moved cautiously forward to the
attack, the Batteries being already placed in readiness for the
beginning of the "show."

No army in the world can execute this movement as scientifically or as
safely as the British Army. Memories of South Africa and Indian frontier
fights have left us undoubtedly the finest scouting army in Europe. We
were, of course, hopelessly outmatched in artillery and numbers. But
artillery being equal, there was not a Brigade in any army in the world