quick, as, perhaps, he intended, and I jumped
to my feet.

'Come now!' I said; 'now! now! An Englishman is always ready for his
duty!'

The commissary was a good fellow, as well as a shrewd one; he slapped
my shoulder kindly. 'Brave garcon!' he said. 'Forgive me, but I knew
what would do you most good. The guard is ready. Come!'

And so, passing right through the guard room, and through a long
vaulted passage, we were out into the night. A few of the men in front
had powerful lanterns. Through courtyards and down a sloping way we
passed out through a low archway to a sunken road, the same that I had
seen in my flight. The order was given to get at the double, and with
a quick, springing stride, half run, half walk, the soldiers went
swiftly along. I felt my strength renewed again--such is the
difference between hunter and hunted. A very short distance took us to
a low-lying pontoon bridge across the stream, and evidently very
little higher up than I had struck it. Some effort had evidently been
made to damage it, for the ropes had all been cut, and one of the
chains had been broken. I heard the officer say to the commissary:

'We are just in time! A few more minutes, and they would have
destroyed the bridge. Forward, quicker still!' and on we went. Again
we reached a pontoon on the winding stream; as we came up we heard the
hollow boom of the metal drums as the efforts to destroy the bridge
was again renewed. A word of command was given, and several men raised
their rifles.

'Fire!' A volley rang out. There was a muffled cry, and the dark forms
dispersed. But the evil was done, and we saw the far end of the
pontoon swing into the stream. This was a serious delay, and it was
nearly an hour before we had renewed ropes and restored the bridge
sufficiently to allow us to cross.

We renewed the chase. Quicker, quicker we went towards the dust
heaps.

After a time we came to a place that I knew. There were the remains of
a fire--a few smouldering wood ashes still cast a red glow, but the
bulk of the ashes were cold. I knew the site of the hut and the hill
behind it up which I had rushed, and in the flickering glow the eyes
of the rats still shone with a sort of phosphorescence. The commissary
spoke a word to the officer, and he cried:

'Halt!'

The soldiers were ordered to spread around and watch, and then we
commenced to examine the ruins. The commissary himself began to lift
away the charred boards and rubbish