out of this cul-de-sac?
It was evident that some of the party had galloped round, while some had
followed straight upon my tracks. Had I my sword I might have beaten off
the Lancer at the door, but to come out now was to be butchered. And
yet if I waited some of them would certainly follow me on foot over the
pig-sty, and what could I do then? I must act at once or I was lost. But
it is at such moments that my wits are most active and my actions most
prompt. Still leading my horse, I ran for a hundred yards by the side
of the wall away from the spot where the Lancer was watching. There I
stopped, and with an effort I tumbled down several of the loose stones
from the top of the wall. The instant I had done so I hurried back to
the door. As I had expected, he thought I was making a gap for my escape
at that point, and I heard the thud of his horse's hoofs as he galloped
to cut me off. As I reached the gate I looked back, and I saw a
green-coated horseman, whom I knew to be Count Stein, clear the pig-sty
and gallop furiously with a shout of triumph across the garden.

"Surrender, your Majesty, surrender!" he yelled; "we will give you
quarter!" I slipped through the gate, but had no time to lock it on
the other side. Stein was at my very heels, and the Lancer had already
turned his horse. Springing upon my Arab's back, I was off once more
with a clear stretch of grass land before me. Stein had to dismount to
open the gate, to lead his horse through, and to mount again before he
could follow.

It was he that I feared rather than the Lancer, whose horse was
coarse-bred and weary. I galloped hard for a mile before I ventured to
look back, and then Stein was a musket-shot from me, and the Lancer
as much again, while only three of the others were in sight. My nine
Prussians were coming down to more manageable numbers, and yet one was
too much for an unarmed man.

It had surprised me that during this long chase I had seen no fugitives
from the army, but I reflected that I was considerably to the west of
their line of flight, and that I must edge more toward the east if I
wished to join them. Unless I did so it was probable that my pursuers,
even if they could not overtake me themselves, would keep me in view
until I was headed off by some of their comrades coming from the
north. As I looked to the eastward I saw afar off a line of dust which
stretched for miles across the country. This was certainly the main road
along which o