The Dispatch-Riders (e-book) (used book) | bookbook.eu

Description

Excerpt: ...steed and, bending over the animal's neck, tore down the road. "Drop him: if he gets away we are as good as done for!" shouted the Belgian corporal. Shot after shot whistled after the fugitive. Once he was seen to give a spasmodic movement and then again to drop over the horse's neck. Still the terrified animal tore onwards, and at length was out of sight. "Quel dommage!" ejaculated the corporal. "The rascal has got away." "He'll drop. I'll swear that he was badly hit," said Etienne, the artilleryman. "We are not to know that," grumbled the corporal; "at least, not at present. Quick, there! We must remove all traces of the affair, and trust to luck that the fellow will be able to tell no tales." Resting their rifles against the wall, Kenneth and his Belgian comrades ran into the road. They found Rollo little the worse for his experiences, beyond a bruised ankle caused by a kick from the struggling horse. "Congratulations after. Work first," exclaimed the corporal. "Together, comrades!" The corpses of the Uhlans and their horses were dragged across the highway and thrown into the broad ditch, where in the now gathering twilight they would escape observation, while dust was thrown upon the traces of the encounter. "Now to the cellar!" exclaimed the corporal. "Nevertheless, I will remain without for a time. I am not at all satisfied. The escape of that wounded Uhlan troubles me, so I will keep watch from without." "He received his quietus, never fear," declared Gaston. "He will tell no tales." "If your opinion is not more true than your aim