They were
flying to their homes like hunted animals, after a fortnight of
misery which had altered their faces forever. They had been in
battle; they had retreated through mud; they had seen all the
ill-fortune of war. They did all that they could to keep me from
my purpose; but I had made up my mind to rejoin my master; I was
not to be moved. Before settling down to sleep for the night I
helped the men to set wires for rabbits, an art which I had not
understood till then, but highly useful to a lad so fated to
adventurous living as myself. We slept in various parts of the
spinney, wherever there was good shelter; but we were all so full
of jangling nerves that our sleep was most uneasy. We woke very
early, visited our wires, then breakfasted heartily on the
night's take. The men insisted on giving me a day's provision to
take with me, which I took, though grudgingly, for they had none
too much for themselves, poor fellows. Just before we parted I
wrote a note to Sir Travers, on a leaf of my pocketbook. "Dear
Sir Travers," I wrote, "These men are well-known to me as honest
subjects. They have had great troubles on their road. I hope that
you will help them to get home. Please remember me very kindly to
your niece." After folding this very neatly I gave the precious
piece of impudence to one of the men. "There," I said, "if you
are stopped, insist on being carried before Sir Travers. He knows
me. I am sure that he will help you as far as he can.
Pages:
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274