As it is, in spite of their superior
numbers, I think we can meet them on an equal field."

The conversation lasted over an hour, and then Desmond retired,
leaving Colonel Villeroy with the marshal. As he left the house,
an officer standing at the door seized his hand.

"My dear Kennedy," he said, "who would have thought that we should
have met again here!"

Desmond staggered back. He could not, for a moment, believe the
evidence of his eyes and ears.

"Why, O'Neil, I thought you were dead."

"I am worth a good many dead men, yet," the other one laughed.
"Let us go into this wine shop and crack a bottle. We can then
talk over matters quietly."

"And O'Sullivan, is he alive too?" Desmond asked.

"No, poor fellow. He has never been heard of since that tremendous
licking we got. There is not a shadow of hope."

Then many questions were asked, on both sides; and when these were
answered, Desmond said:

"Now about yourself, O'Neil. I thought I was the only one that got
through safe."

"So you were, for the other three of us were all on our backs."

"But we did not hear of you as among the prisoners, of whom a list
was furnished by Marlborough."

"No; the name of Patrick O'Neil did not appear. I was shot through
the body, and during the night I lay insensible, but in the
morning I opened my eyes and began to think. It seemed to me that
the name was not one that would be likely to please. In the first
place, because it was evident, by my age, that I was not one of
the Limerick men; in the next place, because of that little matter
of my escape from the jail in London. I had no fear of being shot.
I should be a prisoner of war, but I should not be likely to be
over kindly treated, and when they exchanged prisoners I should
certainly not be one of those sent back. You see, what with
Blenheim and Ramillies and Oudenarde, they had taken ten of our
officers for every one of their officers captured by us, so I
thought it best to pass as a French officer.

"It was easy to do so, as my French was good enough to pass
anywhere, and, you see, I had on a French staff uniform. Luckily
my horse had been shot at the same time as I was. He was lying
dead beside me, and within reach of my arm, so that I was able to
lean over and get my flask from one of the holsters. I had a
terrible thirst on me, and could have drunk a barrel.

"As I heard no firing, I knew that the fighting was over; and in
two or three hours a party came