ad."

"Nothing but bread and sausage again, Paolo," Hector said as he joined
his comrade a quarter of a mile beyond the village.

"And good enough too for a hungry man. I have often longed for such a
meal in the days before you took me, in spite of all warning."

"And we have often done no better since, Paolo, when we have been on the
march. Will you start on it now, or wait until we get to a stream?"

"I will hold on for a bit, master. This black bread is so hard that it
needs a lot of washing down."

Making several detours to avoid villages, they walked all day, and
towards evening came upon a main road running west.

"Unless I am mistaken in the line that I have taken, this must be the
road through Eichstadt. I can see some towers ahead, and I have no doubt
that they are those of the town. There is a bridge there across the
Altmuhl. The river makes a loop at this point, and the road cuts across
it to the northwest to Gunzenhausen, where there is another bridge. From
there the road runs to Hall. Thence we can cross the Neckar, either at
Heilbronn or Neckarsulm, and we are then in our own country, and but
a short distance from either Spires or Philippsburg, where we shall
be likely enough to meet Turenne advancing again, or shall at any rate
learn where he is. We will lie up now and not cross the bridge until it
gets dusk."

"I wish we had swords, master."

"Yes, but they would not suit our disguises. But when we get into the
town I will buy two woodmen's axes and a couple of the long knives that
all the peasants here carry. I fancy from what I heard when we were at
Hall with Turenne that the country between Eichstadt and there is for
the most part a great forest, and there are rough hills to pass before
we get to Hall. It will be just as well to have some weapons that we can
use with effect if we should come upon any bands of robbers."

"Quite so, master. A good axe is as good as a sword in a rough sort of
fight; but is there not some way we can travel so as to avoid this great
forest that you speak of?"

"Not without making a great detour, and that through a country where
there will be bodies of Merci's troops quartered everywhere."

"Very well, master. Then I think that the risk will be less with the
robbers, especially as we have not apparently much worth stealing upon
us."

"Not only apparently, but really, Paolo. Fortunately my purse was pretty
well filled when we were taken prisoners; but we spent