"Give this man food and detain him," said he to the sergeant.
"Why detain me, colonel? I can tell you no more."
"We shall need you as guide."
"As guide? But the count? If I were to fall into his hands?
Ah, colonel--"
The Prussian commander waved him away. "Send Captain Baumgarten to me
at once," said he.
The officer who answered the summons was a man of middle-age,
heavy-jawed, blue-eyed, with a curving yellow moustache, and a brick-red
face which turned to an ivory white where his helmet had sheltered it.
He was bald, with a shining, tightly stretched scalp, at the back of
which, as in a mirror, it was a favourite mess-joke of the subalterns to
trim their moustaches. As a soldier he was slow, but reliable and
brave. The colonel could trust him where a more dashing officer might
be in danger.
"You will proceed to Chateau Noir to-night, captain," said he. "A guide
has been provided. You will arrest the count and bring him back.
If there is an attempt at rescue, shoot him at once."
"How many men shall I take, colonel?"
"Well, we are surrounded by spies, and our only chance is to pounce upon
him before he knows that we are on the way. A large force will attract
attention. On the other hand, you must not risk being cut off."
"I might march north, colonel, as if to join General Goeben.
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