midday
The cavalry of the rear-guard had been instructed to apply the torch to two immense warehouses , filled with tents , tent-poles , mattresses , clothing , shoes , blankets , mess utensils , supplies of every kind sufficient for the equipment of a hundred thousand men . Stacks of forage also had been lighted , and were blazing like huge beacon-fires , and an oppressive silence settled down upon the army as it pursued its march across the wide , solitary plain at sight of that dusky , eddying column that rose from behind the distant hills , filling the heavens with desolation . All that was to be heard in the bright sunlight was the measured tramp of many feet upon the hollow ground , while involuntarily the eyes of all were turned on that livid cloud whose baleful shadows rested on their march for many a league . Their spirits rose again when they made their midday halt in a field of stubble , where the men could seat themselves on their unslung knapsacks and refresh themselves with a bite . The large square biscuits could only be eaten by crumbling them in the soup , but the little round ones were quite a delicacy , light and appetizing ; the only trouble was that they left an intolerable thirst behind them . Pache sang a hymn , being invited thereto , the squad joining in the chorus . Jean smiled good-naturedly without attempting to check them in their amusement , while Maurice , at sight of the universal cheerfulness and the good order with which their first day 's march was conducted , felt a revival of confidence .