I think I can see the
shadows of human figures against the flames. Come, let's climb the
fence and go down through this skirt of bushes."
The suggestion appealed to the daring and curiosity of both, and in a
few minutes they were within two hundred yards of the Northern camp.
But they lay very close in the undergrowth. They saw a big fire and
Harry judged that four or five hundred men were scattered about.
Many were asleep on the grass, but others sat up talking. The
appearance of all was so extraordinary that Harry gazed in astonishment.
It was not the faces or forms of the men, but their dress that was so
peculiar. They were arrayed in huge blouses and vast baggy trousers
of a blazing red, fastened at the knee and revealing stockings of a
brilliant hue below. Little tasselled caps were perched on the sides of
their heads. Harry remembering his geography and the descriptions of
nations would have taken them for a gathering of Turkish women, if their
masculine faces had been hidden.
"What under the moon are those?" he whispered. "They do look curious,"
replied St. Clair. "They call them Zouaves, and I think they're from
New York. It's a copy of a French military costume which, unless I'm
mistaken, France uses in Algeria.
Pages:
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295