In half an hour Paolo returned leading two horses.  By their trappings and appearance both had evidently belonged to officers.

“Take off the trappings,” Hector said, “then put a saddle on one for me; shift your own saddle on to the other, and picket your own with the spare horses of the staff, then we will ride over and get my saddle, bridle, holsters, and trappings.  The horse has carried me well ever since I left Paris, and I am grieved indeed to lose it.”

“So am I, master; it was a good beast, but I think that either of these is as good, though it will be long before I get to like them as I did Scotty.  We shall want housings for this second horse, master.”

“Yes; there will be no difficulty about that.  There are scores of dead horses on the field; choose one without any embroidery or insignia.  You may as well take another pair of holsters with pistols.”

Riding across to the spot where Enghien and his officers were forming up the prisoners, talking courteously to the Spanish officers and seeing to the wounded, Hector, leaving Paolo to find his fallen horse and shift his trappings to the one that he rode, cantered up to the spot where Enghien’s white plume could be seen in the midst of a group of officers, among whom was General Gassion.  He saluted as he came up.

“I am glad indeed to see you, Captain Campbell,” Enghien said warmly, holding out his hand; “I feared that you were killed.  Some of my friends told me that you were struck down in the third charge, and that they had not seen you since and feared that you were slain.”

“My horse was killed, prince, and in falling pinned me to the ground, and being within thirty yards of the Spanish square, I lay without movement until you came back again and broke them.  Then some soldiers so far lifted my horse that I could get my foot from under it, my servant found and caught a riderless German horse, and here I am unharmed.”

“Well, sir, at the time that you came up General Gassion was just telling these gentlemen that had it not been for you things might have gone very differently.  Had you not discovered that ambush their fire would have been fatal to us, for we fell back, as you know, farther than the copse, and a volley from a thousand muskets would have played havoc among us, and after so terrible a repulse might well have decided the day against us.  For this great service, rendered by you voluntarily and without orders, I as commander-in-chief of this army, with the full and warm approval of General Gassion, appoint you to the rank of colonel, a rank which I am sure will be confirmed by the queen’s minister when I report to him my reasons for the promotion.  General Gassion reports that the man who accompanied you on this reconnaissance was the same who followed you in the expedition to Turin.  As he is not a soldier I cannot promote him, but I will order my chamberlain to hand him a purse of a hundred pistoles.  When you return to Turenne, tell him that I owe him my best thanks for having sent you to me, and that, thanks to the aid of his teaching, you have been the means of preventing a great disaster to our forces.”