reports, proceeding from the very opposite direction in which he expected
to find De Wardes, surprised him a great deal; but as he was a man of
amazing self-possession, he prepared himself for his horse falling, but
not so completely, however, that the toe of his boot escaped being caught
under the animal as it fell. Very fortunately the horse in its dying
agonies moved so as to enable him to release the leg which was less
entangled than the other. De Guiche rose, felt himself all over, and
found that he was not wounded. At the very moment he had felt the horse
tottering under him, he placed his pistols in the holsters, afraid that
the force of the fall might explode one at least, if not both of them, by
which he would have been disarmed, and left utterly without defense.
Once on his feet, he took the pistols out of the holsters, and advanced
towards the spot where, by the light of the flash, he had seen De Wardes
appear. De Wardes had, at the first shot, accounted for the maneuver,
than which nothing could have been simpler. Instead of advancing to meet
De Guiche, or remaining in his place to await his approach, De Wardes
had, for about fifteen paces, followed the circle of the shadow which hid
him from his adversary's observation, and at the very moment when the
latter presented his flank in his career, he had fired from the place
where he stood, carefully taking aim, and assisted instead of being
inconvenienced by the horse's gallop. It has been seen that,
notwithstanding the darkness, the first ball passed hardly more than an
inch above De Guiche's head. De Wardes had so confidently relied upon
his aim, that he thought he had seen De Guiche fall; his astonishment was
extreme when he saw he still remained erect in his saddle. He hastened
to fire his second shot, but his hand trembled, and he killed the horse
instead. It would be a most fortunate chance for him if De Guiche were
to remain held fast under the animal. Before he could have freed
himself, De Wardes would have loaded his pistol and had De Guiche at his
mercy. But De Guiche, on the contrary, was up, and had three shots to