t
they evaded their enemies, and reached the mountains after some hours,
very hungry, and almost frozen to death.

Here a new terror awaited them. Some peasants with whom they took refuge
recognised Schell, and for a moment the fugitives gave themselves up for
lost. But the peasants took pity on the two wretched objects, fed them
and gave them shelter, till they could make up their minds what was best
to be done. To their unspeakable dismay, they found that they were,
after all, only seven miles from Glatz, and that in the neighbouring
town of Wunschelburg a hundred soldiers were quartered, with orders to
capture all deserters from the fortress. This time, however, fortune
favoured the luckless Trenck, and though he and Schell were both in
uniform, they rode unobserved through the village while the rest of the
people were at church, and, skirting Wunschelburg, crossed the Bohemian
frontier in the course of the day.

Then follows a period of comparative calm in Trenck's history. He
travelled freely about Poland, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Denmark and
Holland, and even ventured occasionally across the border into Prussia.
Twelve years seem to have passed by in this manner, till in 1758 his
mother died, and Trenck asked leave of the council of war to go up to
Dantzic to see his family and to arrange his affairs. Curiously enough,
it appears never to have occurred to him that he was a deserter, and as
such liable to be arrested at any moment. And this was what actually
happened. By order of the King, Trenck was taken first to Berlin, where
he was deprived of his money and some valuable rings, and then removed
to Magdeburg, of which place Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick was the
governor.

Here his quarters were worse than he had ever known them. His cell was
only six feet by ten, and the window was high, with bars without as well
as within. The wall was seven feet thick, and beyond it was a palisade,
which rendered it impossible for the sentinels to approach the window.
On the other side the prisoner was shut in by three doors, and his food
(which was not only bad, but very scanty) was passed to him through an
opening.

One thing only was in his favour. His cell was only entered once a week,
so he could pursue any work to further his escape without much danger of
being discovered. Notwithstanding the high window, the thick wall, and
the palisade, notwithstanding too his want of money, he soon managed to
open negotiations with