Chapter 15: Escaped.
So astonishing was the spectacle of three lightly-clad men,appearing suddenly on board a craft moored out on the river, thatthe three boatmen sat immovable, in the attitudes in which they hadbeen sitting at the entry of these strange visitors, withoututtering a word. Superstitious by nature, they doubted whetherthere was not something supernatural in the appearance of the threestrangers.
"If you cry out or make the slightest sound," Fergus said, showinghis knife, "you are all dead men. If you sit quiet and do as weorder you, no harm will come to you. We want clothes. If you havespare ones you can hand them to us. If not, we must take those youhave on. We are not robbers, and don't want to steal them. If youwill fix a fair price on the things, we will pay for them. But youmust in any case submit to be bound and gagged till morning; when,on going on deck, you will find no difficulty in attracting theattention of some of your comrades, who will at once release you.
"Keep your hands on the table while my friends take away yourknives. If one of you moves a hand, he is as good as a dead man."
His companions removed the knives from the belts of the two mensitting outside, and then Fergus said to the third man:
"Now, hand over your knife. That will do.
"Now, which of you is the captain?"
"I am," the man sitting farthest from the door said.
"Very well. Now, have you spare clothes on board?"
"Yes, my lord," he replied, in a tone that showed that he had notyet recovered from his first stupefaction, "we have our Sundaysuits."
"We don't want them," Fergus said. "We want the three suits thatyou have on. What do you value them at?"
"Anything you like, my lord."
"No, I want to know how much they cost when new."
The man asked his two comrades, and then mentioned the total.
"Very well, we will give you that. Then you will have no reason forgrumbling, for you will get three new suits for three old ones.
"Now do you--" and he touched the man nearest to him "--take offyour coat, waistcoat, breeches, neck handkerchief, and boots, andthen get into that bunk."
The man did as he was ordered, as did the other two, in succession.As they did so, Captain Ritzer had gone up on deck and returnedwith a coil of thin rope that he had cut off. With this they tiedthe men securely.
"There is no occasion to gag them, I think," Fergus said. "Theymight shout as loud as they liked and, with this wind blowing, noone would hear them; or if anyone did hear them, he would take itfor the shouting of a drunken man.
"Now, look here, my men. Here is the money to buy the new clothes.We have not ill treated you in any way, have we?"
"No, sir, we are quite satisfied."
"Now, I should advise you, in the morning, to manage to untie eachother. We shall fasten the door up as we go out, but you will haveno difficulty in bursting that open, when you are once untied.
"Now I ask you, as you are satisfied, to say nothing about thisaffair to anyone. It would only make you a joke among yourcomrades, and could do you no good. The best thing that you can do,when you get free, will be to dress yourselves in your Sundayclothes, take your boat ashore, and buy new things in the place ofthose we have taken."
"That is what we shall do, sir. No one would believe us, if we toldthem that three men had come on board and taken our old clothes,and given us money to buy new ones in their place."
The three boatmen were all tall and brawny Bavarians, and theirclothes fitted Fergus and his companions well. Fishermen's hatscompleted their costume. The little cabin had been almostoppressively warm, and they had completely got over their chillwhen they left it, closing the door behind them.
They took their places in the boat, crossed to the opposite shore,which was to some extent sheltered from the wind, and rowed somethree miles up. Then they landed, pushed the boat off into thestream, kept along the bank until they came to a road branching offto the left, and followed it until it struck the main road, a fewhundred yards away; and then walked west.
There had been but few words spoken since they left the barge. Ithad been hard work rowing against wind and stream. The oars wereclumsy, and it had needed all their efforts to keep the boat's headstraight. Now that they were in the main road, they were somewhatmore sheltered.
"Well, Drummond, we have accomplished what seemed to me, in spiteof your confidence, well-nigh impossible. We have got out, we haveobtained disguises, and we have eight or nine hours before ourescape can be discovered. I shall believe anything you tell me, infuture," Ritzer said.
"Yes," his companion agreed, "I never believed that we shouldsucceed; though, as you had set your heart on it, I did not like tohang back. But it really did seem to me a wild scheme, altogether.I thought possibly we might get out of the fort, but I believedthat your plan of getting disguises would break down altogether.The rest seemed comparatively easy.
"The rain has ceased, and the stars are coming out, which is acomfort indeed. One was often wet through, for days together, whencampaigning; but after five months' coddling, an eight hours' trampin a blinding rain would have been very unpleasant, especially aswe have no change of clothes.
"Now, commanding officer, what is to be our next tale?"
"That is simple enough," Fergus said with a laugh. "We have beendown with a raft of timber from the mountains, and are on our wayback. That must be our story till we have passed Ratisbon. There isbut one objection, and that is a serious one. As raftsmen we shouldcertainly speak the Bavarian dialect, which none of us can do. Forthat reason I think it would be safer to leave the Danube atPassau, and make down through Munich. We should be at Passautomorrow morning, and can put up at any little place by theriverside. Two days' walking will take us to Munich.
"Certainly no one would suspect us of being escaped prisoners. Wecan get some other clothes tomorrow morning, and finish the rest ofour journey as countrymen.
"The principal thing will be to get rid of these high boots. Ithink in other respects there is nothing very distinctive about ourdress. It will be more difficult to concoct a story, but we musthope that we sha'n't be asked many questions, and I see no reasonwhy we should be. We shall look like peasants going from a countryvillage to a town, but if we could hit upon some story to accountfor our not speaking the dialect, it would of course be a greatadvantage."
They walked along in silence for some time. Then he went on:
"I should say we might give out that we are three Saxons who,having been forced at Pirna to enter the Prussian army, had beentaken prisoners at Hochkirch and had been marched down with theothers to Vienna; and that there, on stating who we were and how wehad been forced against our will into Frederick's army, we were atonce released, and are now on our way back to Saxony; and aretramping through Bavaria, so as to avoid the risk of being seizedand compelled to serve either in the Austrian army or the Prussian;and that we are working our way, doing a job wherever we can get aday or two's employment, but that at present, having worked for atime at Vienna, we are able to go on for a bit without doing so.
"I think with that story we could keep to the plan of going upthrough Ratisbon. It would be immensely shorter, and the storywould be more probable than that we should make such a big detourto get home."
"Yes, I should think that would do well," Ritzer said, "and willshorten the way by two hundred miles. But after leaving Passau, Ishould think that we had better not follow the direct road until weget to Ratisbon.
"I grant that as far as that town we ought to be quite safe, forthere is no chance of their finding out that we have escaped untileight o'clock in the morning; then our colonel will have to reportthe matter to the commandant in the town. No doubt he will send offa small party of cavalry, by the Freyberg road to Budweis, to orderthe authorities there to keep a sharp lookout for three men passingnorth. But I doubt very much whether they will think of sending inthis direction. The escape of three Prussian officers is, afterall, no very important matter. Still, one cannot be too c
areful,for possibly the commandant may send to Munich, Ratisbon, andVienna.
"It is more likely, however, that the search will be madeprincipally in and round Linz. They will feel quite sure that wecannot possibly have obtained any disguises, and must have gone offin our undergarments; and they will reckon that we should naturallyhave hidden up in some outhouse, or country loft, until we couldfind some opportunity for obtaining clothes. Most likely the bargewent on this morning, before the alarm had been given; but even ifit didn't, boatmen would not be likely to hear of the escape ofthree prisoners.
"No, I think beyond Passau we shall be quite safe, as far aspursuit goes; but it will be best to halt there only long enough totake a good meal, and then to go on for a bit, and stop at somequiet riverside village."
"I don't think I shall be able to go very far," Ritzer said. "Theseboots are a great deal too large for me, and are chafing my feethorribly. The road is good and level; and I was thinking, just now,of taking them off and carrying them."
"That would be the best way, by far," Fergus said. "I should thinkat Passau we are sure to find a boat going up to Ratisbon, and thatwill settle the difficulty."
The distance was some thirty miles and, making one or two halts fora rest, they reached Passau just as morning was breaking. In ashort time the little inns by the river opened their doors, and theriverside was astir. They went into one of the inns and ate ahearty meal, then they went down to the waterside, and found thatthere were several country boats going up the river. They soonbargained for a passage, and had just time to buy a basket ofbread, sausage, and cheese, with half a dozen bottles of wine,before the boat started. There were no other passengers on boardand, telling the story they had agreed upon, they were soon on goodterms with the boatmen.
Including the windings of the river, it was some eighty miles toRatisbon. The boat was towed by two horses, and glided pleasantlyalong, taking three days on the passage. They bought food at thevillages where the craft lay up for the night, and arrived atRatisbon at nine o'clock in the evening. There they found nodifficulty in obtaining a lodging at a small inn, where noquestions, whatever, were asked.
A short day's journey took them to Neumarkt, a tramp of upwards oftwenty miles. It was a longer journey on to Bamberg, and two dayslater, to their satisfaction, they entered Coburg.
They were now out of Bavaria, and had escaped all difficulties asto the dialect far better than they had anticipated, never havingbeen asked any questions since they left the boat at Ratisbon. Theyhad now only to say that they were on their way to join theConfederate army that was again being gathered; but they preferredavoiding all questions, by walking by night and resting at littlewayside inns during the day. Avoiding all towns, for the troopswere beginning to move, they crossed the Saxon frontier three daysafter leaving Coburg, and then travelled by easy stages to Dresden.
Here they went straight to the headquarters of the commandant ofthe town, and reported themselves to him. Fergus had personalacquaintances on his staff, and had no difficulty in obtaining, forhimself and his companions, an advance of a portion of the pay dueto them, in order that they might obtain new outfits.
This took a couple of days, and the two captains then said goodbyeto Fergus, with many warm acknowledgments for the manner in whichhe had enabled them to regain their freedom--expressions all themore earnest since they heard that the Austrians had decided that,in future, they would make no exchanges whatever of prisoners--andstarted to rejoin their regiments.
Fergus felt strangely lonely when they had left him. The king wasat Breslau. Keith was lying dead in Hochkirch. What had become ofLindsay he knew not, nor did he know to whom he ought to reporthimself, or where Karl might be with his remaining charger andbelongings. Hitherto at Dresden he had felt at home. Now, save forCount Eulenfurst and his family, he was a stranger in the place.
Naturally, therefore, he went out to their chateau. Here he wasreceived with the same warmth as usual.
"Of course we heard of your capture at Hochkirch," the count said,"though not for many weeks afterwards. We were alarmed when thenews came of the marshal's death, for as it was upon his divisionthat the brunt of the battle had fallen, we feared greatly for you.At last came the list the Austrians had sent in of the prisonersthey had taken, and we were delighted to see your name in it;though, as the Austrians have been so chary of late of exchangingprisoners, we feared that we might not see you for some time.However, remembering how you got out of Spielberg, we did notdespair of seeing you back in the spring.
"Thirza was especially confident. I believe she conceives youcapable of achieving impossibilities. However, you have justifiedher faith in you.
"Supper will be served in a few minutes, and as no doubt your storyis, as usual, a long one, we will not begin it until we havefinished the meal. But tell us first, how were you captured?"
"I was riding through the mist to find the marshal; whom I had notseen for two hours, as I was with the regiment that defended thechurch at Hochkirch, and then cut its way out through theAustrians. The mist was so thick that I could not see ten yardsahead, and rode plump into an Austrian battalion. They fired avolley that killed poor Turk, and before I could get on my feet Iwas surrounded and taken prisoner--not a very heroic way, I mustadmit."
"A much pleasanter way, though, than that of being badly wounded,and so found on the field by the enemy," the countess said; "andyou were fortunate, indeed, in getting through that terrible battleunhurt."
"I was, indeed, countess; but I would far rather have lost a limbthan my dear friend and relation, the marshal. I was allowed toattend his funeral the next day. The Austrians paid him everyhonour and, though I have mourned for him most deeply, I cannot butfeel that it was the death he would himself have chosen. He hadbeen ailing for some months, and had twice been obliged to leavehis command and rest. It would, in any case, probably have been hislast campaign; and after such a wonderfully adventurous life as hehad led, he would have felt being laid upon the shelf sorely."
"His elder brother--Earl Marischal in Scotland, is he not?--who hasbeen governor for some years at Neufchatel, is with the king atBreslau, at present. They say the king was greatly affected at theloss of the marshal who, since Schwerin's death, has been his mosttrusted general."
"I have never seen the marshal's brother," Fergus said, "though Iknow that they were greatly attached to each other. I hope that hewill be at Breslau when I get there. I shall go and report myselfto the king, after I have had a few days' rest here. At present Iseem altogether unattached. The marshal's staff is, of course,broken up; but as I served on the king's own staff twice, duringthe last campaign, I trust that he will put me on it again."
"That he will do, of course," the count said. "After saving hislife at Zorndorf, he is sure to do so."
Supper was now announced, and after it had been removed and theparty drew round the fire, Fergus told them the story of hisescape.
"It was excellently managed," the count said, when he had finished."I do not know that it was quite as dramatic as your escape fromSpielberg, but I should think that, of the two, the escape fromLinz must have seemed the most hopeless. The plan of getting theshutters open and of swimming the moat might have occurred toanyone; but the fact that you were in uniform, and that it wouldhave been impossible to smuggle in a disguise, would have appearedto most men an insuperable obstacle to carrying out the plan.
"You certainly are wonderfully full of resource. As a rule, Ishould think that it is much more difficult for two men to maketheir escape from a place than it is for one alone; but it did notseem to be so, in this case."
"It certainly did not add to the difficulty of getting out of thefort, count. Indeed, in one respect it rendered it more easy. Therewere three of us to work at the heads of the rivets, and itcertainly facilitated our getting clothes from the boatmen, besidesrendering the journey much more pleasant than it would have beenfor one of us alone.
"On the other hand, it would have been impossible to carry out theescap
e from Spielberg in the manner I did, if I had had twoofficers with me in the cell. We could not have hoped to obtainthree uniforms, could hardly have expected all to slip by thesentry unnoticed. Lastly, the three of us could not have got posthorses. Still, it is quite possible that we might have escaped insome other manner."
"Then you have not the most remote idea where you will find yourservant and horse?"
"Not the slightest. If Captain Lindsay got safely through thebattle of Hochkirch, I should say that my man would stick by him.His servant, a tough Scotchman, and Karl are great chums; and Ihave no doubt that, unless he received positive orders to thecontrary, Karl has kept company with him."
"Of course you can find out, from the authorities here, who hastaken command of Marshal Keith's division; and might possibly hearwhether he took over the marshal's personal staff, or whether hebrought his own officers with him."
"Yes, I should think I might do that, count. I think I shall in anycase report myself to the king; but if Lindsay were stationed atany place I could pass through, on my way to Breslau, I would pickup Karl and my horse."
"I shall of course send you another horse tomorrow," the countsaid. "No, no, it is of no use your saying anything against it. Itwas settled that I should supply you with mounts, while the warlasted, and I intend to carry that out fully. I don't know that Ihave another in my stables here that is quite equal to the otherpair, but there are two or three that approach them very nearly. Ifyou can get a mounted orderly, well and good; if not, I will lendyou one of my men. Any of my grooms would be delighted to go withyou, for all regard you as the saviour of our lives.
"I am afraid, my friend, you will not be able to pay us many morevisits. Your king is a miracle of steadfastness, of energy, andrapidity; but even he cannot perform impossibilities. Leave out theRussians, and I believe that he would be more than a match for theAustrians, who are hampered by the slowness of their generals; butRussia cannot be ignored. In the first campaign she wasnon-existent, in the second she annexed East Prussia. This year youhave had a deadly tussle with her, next year she may be still moreformidable; and I do not believe that Frederick with all his skill,and with the splendid valour his troops show, can keep the Russiansfrom advancing still further into the country, and at the same timeprevent the Austrians and the Federal army from snatching Dresdenfrom his grasp.
"I myself should regret this deeply. Prussia, although she taxesthe population heavily, at least permits no disorders nor illtreatment of the people, no plundering of the villages; while theAustrians, Croats, and Pandoors will spread like a swarm of hornetsover the land, and the state of the Saxons under their so-calledrescuers will be infinitely worse than it has been under theirconquerors."
"It would be a heavy blow to the king to lose Dresden," Fergusagreed, "but I am by no means sure that he would not be betterwithout it; except, of course, that it would bring the enemy somuch nearer to Berlin, otherwise the loss of Saxony would be abenefit to him. During all his movements, and in all hiscombinations, he is forced to keep an eye on Dresden. At one momentit is Soubise, with his mixed army of French, Austrians, andConfederate troops, who have to be met and, leaving all else,Frederick is forced to march away two or three hundred miles, andwaste two or three precious months before he can get a blow atthem. Then he has to leave a considerable force to prevent themgathering again, while he hurries back to prevent Daun frombesieging Dresden, or to wrest Silesia again out of his hands.Saxony lost, he could devote his whole mind and his whole power tothe Russian and Austrian armies; who will no doubt, at the nextcampaign, endeavour to act together; and the nearer they are toeach other, the more easily and rapidly can he strike blows at themalternately."
"Perhaps you are right," the count said, "and certainly theAustrians would have to keep a considerable force to garrisonDresden and hold Saxony; for they would be sure that, at the veryfirst opportunity, Frederick would be among them raining his blowsrapidly and heavily. As to any advance north, they would not dareattempt it; for Frederick, who can move more than twice as fast asany Austrian army, would fall on their flank or rear and annihilatethem.
"Still, the blow would be undoubtedly a heavy one for the king,inasmuch as it would greatly raise the spirits of his enemies, andwould seem to show them that the end was approaching."
"I think the end is a good way off still, count. Even if theRussians and Austrians marched across Prussia, they would holdlittle more than the ground they stood on. Frederick would be everhovering round them, attacking them on every opportunity, andpreventing them from sending off detached columns; while thecavalry of Ziethen and Seidlitz would effectually prevent Cossacksand Croats from going out to gather stores for the armies, and toplunder and massacre on their own account. I doubt whether anythingshort of the annihilation of his army would break the king's spiritand, so far as I can see, that is by no means likely to takeplace."
"However, the point at present, my friend, is that if the Austriansget Dresden, it may be long before we see you again."
"I fancy that when the army goes into winter quarters again, if Iam able to get leave of absence, I shall do myself the pleasure ofpaying you a visit, whether the city has changed hands or not. Ifone can travel twice through Austria without being detected, it ishard indeed if I cannot make my way into Saxony."
"But you must not run too great risks," the countess said. "Youknow how glad we should be to see you, and that we regard you asone of ourselves; but even a mother could hardly wish a son to runinto such danger, in order that they might see each other for ashort time."
"What do you say, Thirza?" her father asked.
The girl, thus suddenly addressed, coloured hotly.
"I should be glad to see him, father--he knows that very well--butI should not like him to run risks."
"But he is always running risks, child; and that, so far as I cansee, without so good a reason. At any rate, I shall not join yourmother in protesting. What he says is very true. He has twice madehis way many hundreds of miles in disguise, for the purpose ofgetting here in time for the first fighting; and I do not thinkthat there will be anything like the same risk in his coming hereto pay us a visit.
"At the same time, I would not say a single word to induce him todo so. There is no saying where he may be when the next winter setsin, or what may take place during the coming campaign. In timeslike these it is folly to make plans of any sort, three months inadvance. I only say therefore that, should everything else befavourable, I think that an Austrian occupation of Saxony would notbe a very serious obstacle to his paying us a visit, next winter.
"Once here, he would be absolutely safe, and as the household knowwhat he has done for us--and probably for them, for there is nosaying whether some, at least, of them might not have been killedby those villains--their absolute discretion and silence can berelied upon.
"However, it may be that we shall see him long before that. Theking may have occasion to be here many times, during the summer."
The count would not hear of Fergus returning to the hotel where hehad put up, and for a week he remained at the chateau, where thetime passed very pleasantly. The luxurious appointments, thehospitable attentions of his host and hostesses, and the whole ofhis surroundings formed a strong contrast, indeed, both to his lifewhen campaigning, and the five months he had spent in the casemateat Linz.
At the end of that time he felt he ought to be on the move again.He had learnt that the officers of the marshal's staff had beendispersed, some being attached to other divisions; and that Lindsaywas now upon the staff of Prince Henry. The prince was out Erfurtway, and had already had some sharp fighting with the French andthe Confederate army. Fergus had learned this on the day after hisarrival at the chateau, and also that to the east there was no signof any movement on the part of Daun or of the king. He thereforesuffered himself to be persuaded to stay on for the week.
"Nobody is expecting you, Drummond," the count said. "No doubt theywill be glad to see you, but they will be just as glad ten dayslate
r as ten days earlier. You are believed to be safe in someAustrian prison, and you may be sure that no one will make anyinquiries whether you spent a week, or a month, in recovering fromyour fatigues before taking up your duties again. At any rate, youmust stay for at least a week."
The visit was, indeed, extended two days beyond that time; for thecount and countess so pressed him that he was glad to give way,especially as his own inclinations strongly seconded theirentreaties. On the ninth morning he was astonished when his bedroomdoor opened and Karl came in, and gave his morning's salute asimpassively as if he had seen him the evening before.
"Why, Karl!" Fergus exclaimed, "where do youspring from--when did you arrive?"]
"Why, Karl!" he exclaimed, "where do you spring from--how did youknow that I was here--when did you arrive?"
"I arrived last night, major, but as it was late we went straightto the stable."
"Who is we, Karl?"
"The count's messenger, sir. He reached me at Erfurt, where I waswith Captain Lindsay, four days ago; and I started with him half anhour later. He had set out from here with a led horse, and hadridden through with but one night in bed; and we had changes ofhorses, coming back. And Tartar is in good condition, major. I ledhim all the way down."
"That is most kind and thoughtful of the count," Fergus exclaimed,as he began to dress.
"Well, I am heartily glad to see you again, Karl. I was by no meanssure that you had got off safely at Hochkirch. I looked round foryou, directly I had been captured; but could see nothing of you,and knew not whether you had ridden off, or had been killed by thatvolley that finished poor Turk, and brought about my capture."
"It was a bad business, major, and I have never forgiven myselfthat I was not by your side; but the thing was so sudden that I wastaken altogether by surprise. My horse was grazed with a bullet,and what with that and the sudden flash of fire, he bolted. I hadjust caught sight of you and Turk, going down in a heap, as myhorse spun round; and it had galloped a full hundred yards before Icould check it.
"Then I did not know what was best to do. It seemed to me that youmust certainly be killed. If I had been sure that you had beenwounded and taken prisoner I should have gone back; but even then Imight, more likely than not, have been shot by the Austrians beforeI could explain matters. But I really thought that you were killed;and as, from the shouting and firing, it seemed to me that theenemy had it all their own way there, I rode back to the farmhouse.
"Luckily the Austrians had not got there, so I took Tartar and rodewith him to the king's quarters, and left him with his grooms, whoknew him well enough; and then later on, having nothing else to do,I joined Seidlitz, and had the satisfaction of striking many a goodblow in revenge for you.
"Late in the afternoon when the fighting was over I found CaptainLindsay, and told him about your loss. He comforted me a bit bysaying that he did not think you were born to be shot, and saidthat I had better stay with Donald till there was news about you.Two days later he told me they had got the list of the prisonersthe Austrians had taken, and that you were with them, andunwounded.
"Then, major, I was furious with myself that I had not been takenprisoner, too. I should have been more troubled still if CaptainLindsay had not said that, in the first place, Tartar would havebeen lost if I had not come back straight to fetch him; and that,in the second place, it was not likely you would have been able tokeep me with you had I been a prisoner, and we might not even havebeen shut up in the same fortress.
"I asked him what I had better do, and he said:
"'I am going west to join Prince Henry. You had better come withme. You may be sure that there will be no questions asked aboutyou, one way or the other. I have no doubt Major Drummond will beback in the spring. He is sure to get out, somehow.'
"It seemed to me that that was the best plan too, major. If I hadbeen sent back to my regiment, I don't know what I should have donewith your horse; and then, if you did return, I might not haveheard about it, and you would not have known what had become of me.Once or twice during the last month Captain Lindsay has said to me:
"'Your master ought to have been here before this, Karl. I quitereckoned on his arriving by the end of March.'
"I said perhaps you had not been able to get out, but he would nothear of it. He said once:
"'If you were to head up the major in a barrel, he could find a wayout of it somehow. He will be back soon.'
"He seemed so positive about it that I was not a bit surprised whenthe messenger came, and said that you were at the count's here, andthat I was to ride with him post haste, so as to catch you beforeyou started to join the king at Breslau.
"Captain Lindsay was as pleased as I was. He was just mounting whenthe messenger came in, but wrote a line on the leaf of his pocketbook. Here it is, sir."
The slip of paper merely contained the words:
"A thousand welcomes, my dear Drummond! I have been expecting youfor some time. I wish you had turned up here, instead of atDresden. Hope to see you again soon."
By this time Fergus had dressed.
"My dear count," he exclaimed, as he entered the room where thecount and his wife and daughter were already assembled, "how can Ithank you for your great kindness, in taking such pains to fetchKarl and my horse down for me."
"I had no great pains about the matter," the count replied, with asmile. "I simply wrote to my steward that a messenger must be sentto Erfurt, at once; to order Major Drummond's soldier servant tocome here, at all speed, with his master's horse and belongings.
"'Make what arrangements you like,' I said, 'for relays of horses;but anyhow, he must get to Erfurt in three days, and I will givehim four for coming back again with the man. He is to be found atthe quarters of Captain Lindsay, who is on the staff of PrinceHenry. If Captain Lindsay himself is away, you must find out hisservant.'
"That was all the trouble that I had in the matter. You have reallyto thank Thirza, for it was her idea. Directly you had left theroom, after your telling us that Lindsay was with Prince Henry andmost likely at Erfurt, she said:
"'I should think, father, that there would be time to fetch MajorDrummond's servant and horse. It is not so very far, and surely itmight be done in a week.'
"'Well thought of!' I said. 'It is a hundred and seventy miles. Acourier with relays of horses could do it in three days, withoutdifficulty; and might be back here again, with Drummond's servant,in another four days. I will give orders at once. We can manage toget Drummond to delay his departure for a day or two.'
"So the thing was done."