h they had started. "The men will be confused at first, knowing
nothing of what it all means. Then they will have to get the horses
out of the stables."

"And then they will have trouble," Pierre added.

"What trouble, Pierre?"

"I gave a hint to Eustace," Pierre said with a laugh, "that it
would be just as well, before he mounted, to cut off all the
bridles at the rings. A nice way they will be in, when they go to
mount!"

"Did you cut their bridles for them, Eustace?" he asked, as they
came up to the others.

"Ay, and their stirrup leathers, too, Pierre."

"Good, indeed!" Philip exclaimed. "Without bridles or stirrup
leathers, they can scarce make a start; and it will take them some
minutes to patch them up. We will ride hard for a bit. That will
put us far enough ahead to be able to take any byroad, and throw
them off our traces. I have no fear of their catching us by
straight riding. The masters' horses may be as good as ours, but
those of the men can hardly be so. Still, they might come up to us
wherever we halted for the night."

They looked back, when they were some two miles from the village,
and along the long straight road could make out some figures that
they doubted not were horsemen, just starting in pursuit.

"They waited to mend their leathers," Pierre remarked.

"They were right, there," Philip said; "for a man can fight but
poorly, without bridle or stirrups. The horses will not have been
fed, so we have an advantage there. I do not think we need trouble
ourselves much more about them."

"There is one thing, sir. They won't mind foundering their horses,
and we have to be careful of ours."

"That is so, Pierre; and besides, at the first place they come to,
they may send others on in pursuit with fresh horses. No, we must
throw them off our track as soon as we can. There is a wood, a mile
or so ahead; we will leave the road there."

They were riding on the margin of turf, bordering the road on
either side, so as to avoid the dust that lay thick and white upon
it; and they held on at an easy canter, till they reached the
trees. Then, at Philip's order, they scattered and went at a walk;
so as to avoid leaving marks that could be seen, at once, by anyone
following them. A couple of hundred yards farther, they came upon a
stream running through a wood. It was but a few inches deep.

"This will do for us," Philip said. "Now, follow me in single file,
and see that your horses step always in t