belt, climbed over the wall again, and lay down among the bushes.

He was now able to think clearly. Should he get up and surrender himself
as a prisoner to the first body of French troops that he came across? or
should he lie where he was until nightfall, and then try to get away? If
he surrendered, there was before him a march of seven or eight hundred
miles to a French prison; if he tried to get away, no doubt there were
many hardships and dangers, but at least a possibility of rejoining sooner
or later. At any rate, he would be no worse off than the many hundreds who
had straggled during the march, for it was probable that the great
majority of these were spread over the country, as the French, pressing
forward in pursuit, would not have troubled themselves to hunt down
fugitives, who, if caught, would only be an encumbrance to them.

He was better off than they were, for at any rate he could make himself
understood, which was more than the majority of the soldiers could do; and
at least he would not provoke the animosity of the peasants by the rough
measures they would be likely to take to satisfy their wants. The worst of
it was that he had no money. Then suddenly he sat up again and looked at
his feet.

"This is luck!" he exclaimed; "I had never given the thing a thought
before."

On his arrival at Corunna he had thrown away the riding-boots he had
bought at Salamanca. The constant rains had so shrunk them that he could
no longer wear them without pain, and he had taken again to the boots that
he carried in his valise.

From the time when, at his father's suggestion, he had had extra soles