them I cared nothing. What frightened me was to see
the gleam of a red coat, which showed that there were British in the
place. However, I could not turn and I could not stop, so there was
nothing for it but to gallop on and to take my chance. There were no
troops in sight, so these men must be stragglers or marauders, from whom
I had little to fear. As I approached I saw that there were two of them
sitting drinking on a bench outside the inn door. I saw them stagger to
their feet, and it was evident that they were both very drunk. One stood
swaying in the middle of the road.

"It's Boney! So help me, it's Boney!" he yelled. He ran with his hands
out to catch me, but luckily for himself his drunken feet stumbled and
he fell on his face on the road. The other was more dangerous. He had
rushed into the inn, and just as I passed I saw him run out with his
musket in his hand. He dropped upon one knee, and I stooped forward over
my horse's neck.

A single shot from a Prussian or an Austrian is a small matter, but
the British were at that time the best shots in Europe, and my drunkard
seemed steady enough when he had a gun at his shoulder. I heard the
crack, and my horse gave a convulsive spring which would have unseated
many a rider. For an instant I thought he was killed, but when I turned
in my saddle I saw a stream of blood running down the off hind-quarter.
I looked back at the Englishman, and the brute had bitten the end off
another cartridge and was ramming it into his musket, but before he had
it primed we were beyond his range. These men were foot-soldiers and
could not join in the chase, but I heard them whooping and tally-hoing
behind me as if I had been a fox. The peasants also shouted and ran
through the fields flourishing their sticks. From all sides I heard
cries, and everywhere were the rushing, waving figures of my pursuers.
To think of the great Emperor being chivvied over the country-side in
this fashion! It made me long to have these rascals within the sweep of
my sword.

But now I felt that I was nearing the end of my course. I had done all
that a man could be expected to do--some would say more--but at last I
had come to a point from which I could see no escape. The horses of my
pursuers were exhausted, but mine was exhausted and wounded also. It was
losing blood fast, and we left a red trail upon the white, dusty road.
Already his pace was slackening, and sooner or later he must drop under
me. I look