Until its cartridges were all spent, Lange's battalion held
the churchyard, though its numbers were terribly lessened by
the Austrian fire. Then the major called upon his men to
form in a mass and cut their way through the enemy with the



228 WITH FREDERICK THE GREAT

bayonet. This they most gallantly did, losing many, but the
remnant emerged from the village, their gallant leader, womided
to death, among them. Fergus and Karl separated themselves
from them, ran to the house where they had left their horses,
mounted, and galloped off. By this time the centre was
coming up, led by the king himself. As they neared Hoch-
kirch a cannon-ball took off the head of Frank of Brunswick,
the king's youngest brother-in-law ; Prince Maurice of Dessau,
riding in the dark till within twenty yards of the Austrians,
was badly hit, and the storm of case and musket bullets that
swept the approaches to Hochkirch was so terrible that Fred-
erick's battalion had to fall back.
'' The first thing is to find the marshal," Fergus said, as he
rode out of Hochkirch. " He must be somewhere to the
right."

He galloped on until a flash of fire burst out a few yards in
front. His horse fell dead under him, and before he could
extricate himself from it he was surrounded by Austrians. An
officer shouted to him to surrender, and, seeing the hopeless-
ness of resistance, he at once did so. He looked round, and to
his satisfaction saw nothing of Karl. He was placed in the
midst of the Austrian regiment under the charge of a sergeant,
and told that he would be shot if he tried to escape.
