"
"And he did valiant service, sire," the major said. "I marked him
in the thick of the fight, and saw more than one Imperialist go
down before his sword."
"You know the story of the pitcher and the well, Captain Graheme,"
the king said, smiling. "Some day you will go once too often, and
I shall have to mourn the loss of one of the bravest young officers
in my army."
There was no rest for the soldiers of Gustavus, and no sooner had
Oppenheim fallen than the army marched against Maintz. This was
defended by two thousand Spanish troops under Don Philip de Sylvia,
and was a place of immense strength. It was at once invested, and
trenches commenced on all sides, the Green Brigade as usual having
the post of danger and honour facing the citadel. The investment
began in the evening, but so vigorously did the Scotch work all
night in spite of the heavy musketry and artillery fire with which
the garrison swept the ground that by morning the first parallel
was completed, and the soldiers were under shelter behind a thick
bank of earth.
All day the Imperialists kept up their fire, the Scots gradually
pushing forward their trenches. In the evening Colonel Axel Lily,
one of the bravest of the Swedish officers, came into the trenches
to pay a visit to Hepburn. He found him just sitting down to dinner
with Munro by the side of a fire in the trench.
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