Page 1 (2/2)

But where other kings have failed in greatness, I will not, Napoleon rerow beyond the wildest drea would stand in his way Not armies, not weather, not mountains—and certainly not some upstart Austrians

A year earlier, while he and his arypt, the Austrians had brashly retaken the Italian territory annexed to France in the Campo Formio treaty Their victory would be short-lived They would neither expect an attack this early in the year, nor would they i to cross the Pennines in winter With good reason

With its towering walls of rock and snaking gorges, the Pennines were a geographic nightmare for solitary travelers, let alone an army of forty thousand Since September the pass had seen thirty feet of snow and te as tall as tento bury the cloaked the ground until , turning a calhtmare of snow and ice that left the of all were the avalanches—cataracts of snow, sometimes a half mile wide, that roared down the h to be in their way So far God had seen fit to spare all but two hundred of Napoleon’s men

He turned to Constant “The quartermaster’s report?”

“Here, General” The valet pulled a sheaf of papers from inside his coat and handed it to Napoleon, who scanned the figures Truly, an arht on its stomach So far his men had consumed 19,817 bottles of wine, a ton of cheese, and 1,700 pounds of meat

Ahead, down the pass, there came a shout from the outriders: “Laurent, Laurent!”

“At last,” Napoleon murmured

A group of twelve riders e soldiers, the best he had, just like their commander Not a one rode hunched over, but all were erect, chins held high Major-General Laurent trotted his horse to a stop before Napoleon, saluted, then disestured to Constant, who hurried forward and handed Laurent a bottle of brandy Laurent took a gulp, then another, then handed the bottle back

Napoleon said, “Report, old friend”

“We covered eight n of enemy forces The weather improves at the lower elevations, as does the depth of the snow It will only get easier from here”

“Goodvery good”

“One note of interest,” Laurent said, placing his hand on Napoleon’s elbow and steering hi, General”

“And would you care to elaborate on the nature of this so?”

“It would be better if you saw it for yourself”

Napoleon studied Laurent’s face; there was a glint of barely contained anticipation in his eyes He’d known Laurent since they were both sixteen, serving as lieutenants in the La Fère Artillery Laurent was prone to neither exaggeration nor excitability Whatever he’d found, it was significant

“How far?” Napoleon asked

“Four hours’ ride”

Napoleon scanned the sky It was already midafternoon Over the peaks he could see a line of dark clouds A stor Laurent on the shoulder “We’ll leave at first light”

As was his custo at six AM, well before dawn He had breakfast, then read the overnight dispatches froade commanders over a pot of bitter black tea Laurent arrived with his squad shortly before seven and they set out down the valley, following the trail Laurent had broken the day before