Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-06-09
CHAPTER XVI.
IN THE MIDST OF THE FOE.

IN THE MIDST OF THE FOE.
They had not long to wait. A
Casse Tete had foreseen, before yer,
long they heard more horses trot
ting to catch up with the column
and two men dashed by them, rid
ing fast along the train, and no
noticing the group under the tire,
by the roadside.
"What docs that mean ?" sale
Gabriel.
'It means, my officer, that the
provost guard is after them, ant
they've no time to STOP" said CassI
Tete rather anxiously.
"We'd better move back or they'll
all see u.s."
Realizing the danger in which
they would be if anything like q
party came by them, Gabriel fol.
lowed the advice, and they led the
captured horse back into the fog,
till the road was invisible.
Then they soon heard the clank
OF armOr and heard a party trot
smartly by; the stern tones Of an
officer calling out orders every now
and then.
These passed out of hearing, and
Case Tete said, in a tone of relief :
"That was the provost guard l
think ?"
"Then there will be no more
stragglers quoth Gabriel innocent
ly.
Case Tete laughed slightly.
pardon me, my officer, but you
officers are too apt to think you
frighten men with provost guards,
when the sharp ones only laugh at
them. You'll find more stragglers
yet, and they'll be the drunkest of
all. See if l am not right. More
over, if don't get the best horse in
that cuirassier regiment shall be
surprised. There is always some
officers servant in the rear with his
masters charger, and he's sure TO
be a drunken vagabOnd. Hark !!
here comes some one now"
They heard the voices Of drunken
men talking recklessly away, and
presently two riders loomed up in
the fog, with a led horse ON one
side.
One of these riders was a cuiras-
sier, the other short fat man, who
seemed to be bareheaded and very
drunk indeed, from the way he
swayed about in his saddle.
"Now, my officer" whispered
Casse Tete, "show them the bottle
Gabriel advanced from the tree
under which they were lurking,
and held up the bottle calling out In
It Kissing whisper:
"'Sh ! 'Sh!"
The two men instantly became
silent and pulled up their horses,
when Gabriel pretended to drink
and waved the bottle. The effect
was magical.
The cuIrassier dasiwd up to the
tree and was off his horse in a mo-
ment, thought he was so drunk
that he nearly fell on his nose in
doing 50, while the fat man, in fol-
lowing his example measured his
length on the ground and lay there.
There was no time to loose.
AS the cuirassier stumbled, Oisse
Tete caught the horse-hair of his
helmet, jerked him on his back halt
choked, and in one instant stabbed
him in the throat with the long
sword he had stolen.
Gabriel, in the same instant, gave
the tat man kick on the back of
the head that knocked him sense
less, and said to Casse Tete:
"Thy're finished. Catch the
horses"
This was done with very little
trouble, when our two French CUR
assiers found themselves in possess
ion of four horses, of which one was
evidently an officers charger, a
grand bay dappled with black, with
a heavy name and tail and a neck
and chest like a draught horse,
though his slOping shoulders and
clean legs betokened speed.
Gabriel had no hesitation in chos-
ing this grand horse and speedily
saddled it with the trappings of the
dead cuirrassier, whose weapons he
took.
Then our two adventures mount
ed, and rode off through the fog and
night, in full French uniform, with
the skull and cross-boneS of the
Deaths Heads on their helmets,
but mounted on Russian horses and
armed with Russian weapons.
"My faith, major" observed Cas-
sc Tete presently, "that horse of
yours is a fine stopper! He trots so
easily and yet he keeps my horse at
a canter."
Case Tete did not know that the
stolen charger was one of a breed
that was to become famous in after
years as the grande't heavy trotting
stock in the world, under the name
of the "Orloff trotters."
Gabriel without knowing ii had
on one of the earliest spec
linens of this fine breed I'm the dark.
Very soon as they trotted along
they heard the column of calvary
ahead OF them and Gabriel said to
Casse Tete:
"Comrade, what do you advise !"
He had become used already to
on the sharp wits Of the
old GascOn.
CasSe Tete was by no means slow |
to give his advice for he felt tlatter-
ed.
81 should say, my officer, that we
keep on where we are, near the rear |
of this column, SO that we can pass |
the pickets with them without que5-
tiOning."
"But suppose some one comes
back from the column, missing this
horse lam riding, what shall we
do ."
Case Tete seemed puzzled.
"Indeed could not say, major"
Gabriel reined uD.
"Let them pass on then. We can
run the guard easy enough going
out of the lines, but If we are too
near that regiment we shall be pur-
sued and the slOwest horse in such
race would beyours."
They diverged after this into a
muddy field where their horses sunk
over the feltlocks, and could hear in
advance the loud splashing and
which told that the cav
airy CT luinn was doing the same
thing.
Their position was one full OF eX-
for they did not know at
what moment they might come OH
some one who would challange
-hem in Russian, and they were
quite uncertain in the dark, rs soon
Is they left the road, of the direct
on in which they ought to pro-
,eed.
They were in the midst of the
army, but how near to the
)utposts they knew not, and they
could only follow at distance the
noise of the column OF calvary
ahead.