Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-08-13
CHAPTER IL
CHAPTER IL
But even as was torn out onto the

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been pulled over my head in the strug-
gle and was covering one of my eyes, and
1t was with my wounded eye that 1 was
seeing this band of brigands. You see
for yourself by this quicker and scar
how the thin blade passed between
socket and ball, but it was only at that
moment when was dragged from the
coach that l understood that my sight
was not gone forever The creatures
intention, doubtless, was to drive it
through my brain and, indeed, he
loosened some portion OF the inner
bone of my head, SO that l afterwards
had more trouble from that wound
than from any one of the seventeen
which have received.
They dragged me out, these sons of
dogs, with curses and execrations, beat
ing me with their fists and kicking me
as lay upon the ground. l had fire.
quently observed that the mountaineers
wore cloth swathed round their feet,
but never did l imagine that l should
have SO much cause to be thankful for
1t. Presently, seeing the blood upon
my head, and that l lay quiet, they
thought that | was unconscious, where
as was storing every ugly face among
them in my memory, SO that l might
see them all safely hanged if ever my
chance came around. Brawny rascals
they We're, with yellow handkerchiefs
round their heads, and great red sashes
stuffed with weapons. They had rolled
two great rocks across the path, where
1t took short turn, and it was these
which had torn off one of the wheels of
the coach and upset us. AS to the rep
tile who had acted the priest SO clev-
crly and had told me so much of his
parish and his mother, he, of course, had
known where the aInbuscade was laid,
and had attempted 10 put me beyond
all resistance at the moment when VIC
reached it.
l cannot tell you how frantic their
rage was when they drew him out of
the coach and saw the state to which
had reduced him. If he had not got all
his deserts he had at least something
as a souvenir of his meeting with
Etienne Gerard, for his legs dangled
aimlessly about, and though the upper
part of his body was convulsed with
rage and pain he sat straight down
upon his feet when they tried to set
him upright. But all the time his two
little black eyes, which had seemed so
kindly and SO innocent in the coach,
were glaring at me like wounded cat.
and he spat and spat and spat in my di-
rection. My faith, when the wretches
jerled me onto my feet again, and when
Twas dragged off up one of the mountain
paths, l understood that time was
coming when l was to need all my
courage and resource. My enemy was
carried upon the shoulders of the men
behind me, and could hear his kissing
and reviling first in one ear and then in
the other as Twas hurried up the wind
ing track.
l suppose that it must have been an
hour that we assembled, and what with
my wounded ankle and the pain from
my eye, and the fear lest this wound
should have spoiled my good looks,
have made no journey to which look
'tSiA "itii ANo' lJltsioul navy htNN4
been good climber at any time, but it
is astonishing what you can do, even
with stiff ankle, when you have 4
copper-colored brigand at each elbow
and nine-inch blade within touch of
your whiskers. We came at last to a
place where the path wound over a
ridge and descended upon the other
side through thick pine trees into
valley which opened to the south. In
time of peace l have little doubt that
the villains were all smugglers and
that these were the secret paths by
which they crossed the Portuguese
frontier. There were many mule
tracks, and once l was surprised to see
the marks of a large horse where a
stream had softened the track. These
were explained upon reaching place
where there was n clearing in the fir
wood. l saw the animal itself battered
to fallen tree. My eyes hardly rested
upon it when 1 recognized the great
black limbs and the white near the
foreleg. 1t was the very horse which
had begged for in the morning.
What then had become of Com
missariat Vidal? Was it possible that
there was another Frenchman in as
perilous a plight as myself The
thought had hardly entered my head
when our party stopped and one OF
them uttered a peculiar cry. 1t was
answered from among the brambles
which lined the base of cliff at one
side of the clearing, and an instant later
ten or dozen more brigands came out
from amongst them and the two par
ties greeted each other. The newcom-
ers surrendered my friend Of the
bradawl with cries of grief and sympa-
thy, and then turning upon me they
brandished their knives and howled at
me like the gang of assassins that they
were. So frantic were their gestures
that was convinced that my end had
come, and was just bracing myself to
meet it in manner which should be
worthy of my past reputation when
one OF them gave an order, and 1
was dragged roughly across the little
glade to the brambles from which this
new band had emerged
A narrow pathway led through them
to a deep grotto in the side of the cliff.