At daybreak the French had advanced in three columns—­the right upon Chatelet, five miles below Charleroi, on the Sambre; the center on Charleroi itself; the left on Marchienne.  Zieten, who was in command of the Prussian corps d’armee, defended the bridges at these three points stoutly, and then contested every foot of the ground, his cavalry making frequent charges; so that at the end of the day the French had only advanced five miles.  This stout resistance enabled Blucher to bring up two out of his other three corps, Bulow, whose corps was at Liege, forty miles away, receiving his orders too late to march that day.  The rest of the Prussian army concentrated round the villages of Fleurs and Ligny.

Accordingly at ten o’clock in the evening orders were issued by Wellington for the third division to march at once from Braine-le-Comte to Nivelles, for the first to move from Enghien to Braine-le-Comte, and for the second and fourth divisions to march from Ath and Grammont on Enghien.  No fresh orders were issued to the troops round Brussels; and although it was known at the ball that the troops were in readiness to march at a moment’s notice, there were none except the generals and a few members of the staff who had an idea that the moment was so near at hand.  The regiments stationed at a distance from Brussels were assembled in the park by ten o’clock in the evening; then arms were piled, and the men permitted to fall out.

Only a few lighted fires, for the night was warm.  The artillery, however, who had all along been bivouacked in the park, had their fires going as usual, and round these many of the troops gathered, but the greater part wrapped themselves in their cloaks and went quietly to sleep.  Ralph strolled about for an hour or two, chatting with other officers and looking at the groups of sleepers, and listening to the talk of the soldiers gathered round the fires.  Among them were many old Peninsular men, whose experience now rendered them authorities among the younger soldiers, who listened eagerly to the details of the desperate struggle at Albuera, the terrible storming of the fortresses, and lighter tales of life and adventure in Spain.  Many of the men whose quarters lay near the scene of assembly had been permitted to return to them, with strict orders to be ready to join the ranks should the bugle sound.

CHAPTER XVI.

FOUND AT LAST.

As soon as Mrs. Conway received the box she set to work in earnest.  Directly the house was still and a sufficient time had elapsed for the Miss Penfolds to have fallen asleep, she rose from the bed on which she had lain down without undressing, put on the coat and hat, and made her way noiselessly down to the library.  As she kept the lock well oiled she entered noiselessly, and then locking the door behind her lighted a candle and commenced her search.  On the fifth night she was rewarded by finding that the center of what looked like a solidly carved flower in the ornamentation of the mantelpiece gave way under the pressure of her finger, and at the same moment she heard a slight click.  Beyond this nothing was apparent; and after trying everything within reach she came to the conclusion that it needed a second spring to be touched to reveal the entrance.