rmur of the river filled his ears; his hot throat was
cracking. Drink he must, at any rate, and he started on in the
darkness, moving stealthily over the moss. The water was closer
than he had imagined; he bent above it, first touching it with
groping hands, then noiselessly bathed his feverish face in the
dark stream, drinking his fill.

He longed to follow the shallow stream, wading to Morteyn, but he
dared not risk it; so he went along the bank as far as he could,
trying to keep within sound of the waters, until again he found
himself close to the park wall. The stream had vanished again.

Dawn began to gray the forest; little by little the nearest trees
grew from the darkness, and bushes took vague shapes in the
gloom. He strained his eyes, peering at every object near him,
striving to recognize stones, saplings, but he could not. Even
when dawn at last came up out of the east, and the thickets grew
distinct, he did not know where he was. A line of vapour through
the trees marked the course of the little river. Which way was
it flowing? Even that he could not tell. He looked in vain for
the park wall; that had vanished utterly with the dawn. Very
cautiously he advanced over the deep forest mould to the
willow-fringed bank of the stream. The current was flowing east.
Where was he? He parted the willows and looked out, and at the
same instant an Uhlan saw him and shouted.

Running swiftly through the trees, head lowered, hands clenched,
he heard the sound of galloping on a soft road that seemed to run
through the forest, parallel to his own course. Then, as he bore
hastily to the right and plunged into the deeper undergrowth, he
caught a glimpse of the Chateau close by through the trees.
Horrified to find himself back at the place from which he had
started, he doubled in his tracks, ran on, stooping low, splashed
into the stream and across, and plunged up to the shoulders
through the tall weeds and bushes until again he felt the forest
leaves beneath his feet.

The sudden silence around him was disconcerting. Where had the
Uhlan gone? He ran on, making straight for the depths of the
woods, for he knew now where he was, and in which direction
safety lay.

After a while his breath and legs gave out together, and he
leaned against a beech-tree, his hands pressed to his mouth,
where the breath struggled for expulsion. And, as he leaned
there, two Uhlans, mounted, lances advanced, came picking their
way among the