The Chouans might have carried the day at this moment if the two wings
commanded by Merle and Gerard had not succeeded in getting in two
volleys which took them diagonally on their rear. The Blues of the two
wings ought to have remained in position and continued to pick off in
this way their terrible enemies; but excited by the danger of their
little main body, then completely surrounded by the Chouans, they
flung themselves headlong into the road with fixed bayonets and made
the battle even for a few moments. Both sides fought with a
stubbornness intensified by the cruelty and fury of the partisan
spirit which made this war exceptional. Each man, observant of danger,
was silent. The scene was gloomy and cold as death itself. Nothing was
heard through the clash of arms and the grinding of the sand under
foot but the moans and exclamations of those who fell, either dead or
badly wounded. The twelve loyal recruits in the republican main body
protected the commandant (who was guiding his men and giving orders)
with such courage that more than once several soldiers called out
"Bravo, conscripts!"
Hulot, imperturbable and with an eye to everything, presently remarked
among the Chouans a man who, like himself, was evidently surrounded by
picked men, and was therefore, no doubt, the leader of the attacking
party. He was eager to see this man distinctly, and he made many
efforts to distinguish his features, but in vain; they were hidden by
the red caps and broad-brimmed hats of those about him.
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