Lannes and John, stepping out, left it in charge of two of the younger men.

Then, proudly waving the others aside, they walked to the low stone farmhouse, in front of which the elderly, spectacled general was standing.

He looked at Lannes inquiringly, but the young Frenchman, without a word, handed him a note.
John watched the general read, and he saw the transformation of the man's face.

Doubting, anxious, worn, it was illumined suddenly.

In a voice that trembled he said to the senior officers who clustered about him: "We're advancing in the center, and on the other flank.