Mercœur had no idea of seriously hazarding the loss of Alba Regalis. When he issued to battle there were left in the town ten thousand men, a sufficient number to hold it for some months even if the worst befell their comrades. With his main body, twenty thousand strong, the Duc marched out to meet the oncoming Turks. The spot he selected for the encounter was one where the enemy must debouche from a comparatively narrow way upon the extensive plains of Girkhe. The latter expanse afforded ideal conditions for the movement of cavalry, upon which arm the general mainly depended for success. The Christian army arrived at the battle-ground at the close of day and, after throwing out a chain of videttes and posting strong guards, passed a restful night in bivouac. The Duc’s force had hardly finished its morning meal when the videttes retired before the van of the advancing Turks and the outposts fell back in orderly manner upon the main body. The hoarse bray of the trumpets called the soldiers “to arms” and, as they had lain down in ranks the night before, the regiments were formed in a very few minutes. It was no part of the Duc’s plan to contest the advance of the enemy or to attempt to drive him back. The Turkish regiments as they arrived were freely permitted to march forward and deploy upon the plain. The Christian army was massed, and as each corps of the Ottomans lined up in its crescent formation the Duc sent one of his own against it. They were about equal in numbers, that is to say, each one thousand strong. It was the hope of the Christian commander that in this way he should be able to rout a considerable portion of the Turkish army before it could bring a very superior force upon the field. The best of his troops Mercœur held back until the latter part of the day when the hardest fighting might be expected to occur. Thus John Smith and many another brave fellow was forced to stand impatiently watching his comrades in action. Twice during the forenoon, however, Captain Smith was permitted to take out his troop and make a brief charge for the purpose of turning the tide where a Christian regiment appeared to be overmatched. So, for hours this strange battle progressed in a series of duels. Every thirty or forty minutes brought a fresh Turkish regiment on the field where it was at once engaged by one of the Christian corps in an isolated conflict. There was no attempt at military tactics or combined movements on the part of the various colonels. Each had his own little battle to fight with a Turkish zanzack. He was instructed to attend strictly to that and pay no heed to what might be going on around him. When he had beaten and routed the body opposed to him, he was to retire and rest his men and horses.