When some
distance away, we looked back and saw that the whole column had halted,
about seven thousand men.
We reached Heilbron to find the place practically deserted. Wishing to
see the enemy enter the town, we delayed our departure. Some hours
passed, and nothing happened to denote the proximity of the British. We
feared that they might be surrounding the town before entering it, so we
left for Frankfort, following the road taken by the President the night
before.
TAPPING THE WIRES
We had gone about a mile, when suddenly a score of horsemen made their
appearance on top of the rise before us. Not knowing whether they were
friends or foes, we swerved away to the left, regaining the road by a
detour. After sunset we saw a small bonfire blaze forth about three
miles away in the direction we were going. We hardly knew what to make
of such an unusual sight. The night was a fairly dark one, but we pushed
on rapidly. In the middle of a hard canter my horse suddenly struck his
forefeet against some obstacle, and came crashing down upon his head. It
was an anxious moment for me. When we had disentangled ourselves I
hastened to feel the pony's knees, and found to my joy that they were
but little damaged. Whilst still laughing over this mishap, we heard
voices to our right. We listened for a moment. First came the question
_in English_--
"Where are they?"
Then the reply--
"Don't know where they are now.
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