war, nay, of slaughter. Their cloaks were
stained and torn; their armour was disjointed,
and parts of it were wanting; yet these losses
were so arbitrary, that it was plain that the
pieces had been hacked from their fastenings.
The helm of the foremost was deprived of its
crest; another wore the bonnet of a common
soldier, which ill accorded with the rest of his
accoutrements; while the third, bareheaded, his
hair falling on his shoulders, lank and matted
from heat and exercise, gave more visible tokens
of the haste of flight. As the night grew
darker, one of them, and then another, seemed
willing to relax somewhat in their endeavours:
one alone continued, with unmitigated energy, to
keep his horse at the same pace they had all
maintained during the broad light of day.
When they reached the ford, the silence was broken by the hindmost horseman; he spoke in a petulant voice, saying:—"Another half mile at this pace, and poor Flour-de-Luce founders; if you will not slacken your speed, here, we part, my friends. God save you till we meet again!"
