ort legs could carry
him, the little man burst upon our group with the alarming intelligence
that the soldiers were about to search the wood. Though we had been
expecting it, and were even waiting for it, the news came upon us like a
thunder clap.

"What can we do to escape them?" cried my mother, wringing her hands in
an agony of terror. Then turning to my father she continued: "Whatever
happens they must not take the children. Save them at any hazard."

Even in that moment of danger she gave no thought to herself. It will
always remain my firm conviction that she would have yielded up her own
life joyfully, if by so doing she could have been sure of saving ours.

"There is nothing for it but for us to hide in the trees and take our
chance," began my father, for once coming forward with a suggestion. "If
we are perfectly quiet and the snow covers our tracks, it is just
possible that they may not become aware of our presence."

In order that you may understand the value of the idea, it should be
explained that the trees of which the wood was composed were a species
of pine--I cannot recall their botanical name--with long, low branches
that stretched out and touched the ground on every side. It was within
the bounds of possibility that if we scrambled in among the snow-laden
boughs and crouched down, our presence might not be observed, but it was
a very slender chance upon which to trust our lives. However, within a
few seconds of the man's sounding the alarm, we were all stowed away out
of sight. I scrambled into a tree with my mother and Max; my father,
Gabriel, and my mother's woman were hidden in another; while the
remainder of the party distributed themselves as best they could. Then
followed another interval of suspense, during which we expected to hear
every moment the tramp of the soldiers' chargers on the snow, and to
find a lance come driving into the tree to turn us out. With anxious
eyes we watched the tell-tale footmarks on the ground, knowing that upon
them our lives depended. Heaven be thanked, however, the snow was
falling fast, and every second's delay meant a greater chance of safety.
A quarter of an hour went by and still the troopers did not come. The
delay was difficult to account for. Had the man made a mistake when he
had said that he had seen them preparing to search the wood? I had
turned my face up to my mother's and was about to address a remark to
her on the subject, when a look of terror f