shoulder kindly. 'Brave garçon!' he said. 'Forgive me, but I knew what
would do you most good. The guard is ready. Come!'

And so, passing right through the guard room, and through a long vaulted
passage, we were out into the night. A few of the men in front had
powerful lanterns. Through courtyards and down a sloping way we passed
out through a low archway to a sunken road, the same that I had seen in
my flight. The order was given to get at the double, and with a quick,
springing stride, half run, half walk, the soldiers went swiftly along.
I felt my strength renewed again--such is the difference between hunter
and hunted. A very short distance took us to a low-lying pontoon bridge
across the stream, and evidently very little higher up than I had struck
it. Some effort had evidently been made to damage it, for the ropes had
all been cut, and one of the chains had been broken. I heard the officer
say to the commissary:

'We are just in time! A few more minutes, and they would have destroyed
the bridge. Forward, quicker still!' and on we went. Again we reached a
pontoon on the winding stream; as we came up we heard the hollow boom of
the metal drums as the efforts to destroy the bridge was again renewed.
A word of command was given, and several men raised their rifles.

'Fire!' A volley rang out. There was a muffled cry, and the dark forms
dispersed. But the evil was done, and we saw the far end of the pontoon
swing into the stream. This was a serious delay, and it was nearly an
hour before we had renewed ropes and restored the bridge sufficiently to
allow us to cross.

We renewed the chase. Quicker, quicker we went towards the dust heaps.