nt put a little more drag into the stroke it must infallibly
have snicked open the artery inside the upper arm. As it was, my
immediate business lay in frightening him off before the bleeding
slackened, and my heart gave a leap when he turned and ran out of the
patio, buttoning his tunic as he went.

It took me ten minutes perhaps to dress the wound and tie a rude
bandage; and perhaps another four to pull off coat and shoes and slip
into the staff officer's tunic, pull on his riding boots over my blue
canvas trousers--at a distance scarcely discernible in colour from
his tight-fitting breeches--and buckle on his sword-belt. I had some
difficulty in finding his cap, for he had tossed it carelessly behind
one of the fallen beams, and by this time the light was bad within
the patio. The horse gave me no trouble, being an old campaigner, no
doubt, and used to surprises. I untethered him and led him gently
across the yard, picking my way in a circuit which would take him as
far as possible from his fallen master. But glancing back just before
mounting, to my horror I saw that the wounded man had raised himself
on his right elbow and was staring at me. Our eyes met; what he
thought--whether he suspected the truth or accepted the sight as a
part of his delirium--I shall never know. The next instant he fell
back again and lay inert.

I passed out into the open. The warning gun must have sounded without
my hearing it, for across the meadow the townspeople were retracing
their way to the town gate, which closed at sunset. At any moment now
the patrols might be upon me; so swinging myself into the saddle I set
off at a brisk trot towards the gate.

My chief peril for the moment lay in the chance of meeting the
lieutenant on his way back with the doctor; yet I must run this
risk and ride through the town to the bridge gate, the river being
unfordable for miles to the northward and trending farther and farther
away from Guarda; and Guarda must be reached at all costs, or by
to-morrow Trant's and Wilson's garrisons would have ceased to exist.
My heart fairly sank when on reaching the gate I saw an officer in
talk with the sentry there, and at least a score of men behind him. I
drew aside; he stepped out and called an order to his company, which
at once issued and spread itself in face of the scattered groups of
citizens returning across the meadow.

"Yes, captain," said the sentry, answering the question in my look,"
they are af