`` surely it can not be , '' laurence said , but he felt a sudden wild hope blazing in his chest , remembering the twenty promised british dragons ; though how they should have come now , and here to danzig of all places - but they had come in from the sea , and they were fighting the french dragons : no formations at all , only a kind of general skirmishing , but they had certainly engaged - taken off their guard and surprised , the small guard of french dragons fell back in disarray little by little towards the walls ; and before the rest of their force could come to their aid , the newcomers had broken through their line .