Page 95 - A Jacobite Exile

"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.

"My own idea is that he does, Cunningham. I cannot see what else there is
for us to do. At any rate, if he does, you may be sure that we shall make a

tough fight for it. The cavalry showed, the other day, that they can stand up
against many times their number of the Russians, and if they can do it, I
fancy we can. There is one thing, the very audacity of such an attempt is in

its favour."

"Well, we will all do our best, you may be sure; but since Thermopylae, I
doubt if men have fought against longer odds."