wood near. No one was hit, but that made no
difference. The black-hearted scoundrels came to my farm; shot my
three boys, before their mother's eyes; ill treated her, so that
she died next day and, when I returned--for I was away, at the
time--I found a heap of ashes, where my house had stood; the dead
bodies of my three boys; my wife dying, and my daughter sitting by,
screaming with laughter--mad--quite mad!

"I took her away to a friend's house; and stayed with her till she
died, too, a fortnight after. Then I bought this gun, and some
powder and lead, with my last money; and went out to kill
Prussians. I have killed thirteen already and, please God," and the
peasant lifted his hat, devoutly, "I will kill two more, today."

"How is it that you have escaped so long?" Ralph asked, in
surprise.

"I never fire at infantry," the peasant said. "It was Uhlans that
did it, and it's only Uhlans I fire at. I put myself on a rock, or
a hillside, where they can't come--or in a thick wood--and I
content myself with my two shots, and then go. I don't want to be
killed, yet. I have set my mind on having fifty--just ten for each
of mine--and when I've shot the last of the fifty, the sooner they
finish me, the better.

"You'd better not go any farther, sir. The valley widens out, round
the corner; and there are Prussians in the nearest village."

"Thank you," Ralph said, "but my orders are to reconnoiter them,
myself, and I must do so. I am well mounted, and I don't think that
they will catch me, if I get a couple of hundred yards' start.
There are franc tireurs in the village, a mile back."

Ralph now rode carefully forward, while the peasant went back into
his hiding place by the wood. As he had said, the gorge widened
into a broad valley, a few hundred yards farther on. Upon emerging
from the gorge, Ralph at once saw a village--almost hidden among
trees--at a distance of less than a quarter of a mile. After what
he had heard, he dared not ride on farther. He therefore drew his
horse aside from the road, among some trees; dismounted, and made
his way carefully up the rocky side of the hill, to a point from
which he could command a view down the whole valley.

When he gained this spot, he looked cautiously round. Below, beyond
the village, he could see large numbers of men; could make out
lines of cavalry horses, and rows of artillery. A considerable
movement was going on, and Ralph had no doubt that they were about
to adv