When they had placed half a mile or more between themselves and the
Russian outposts, Phil caught Tony by the sleeve and came to a halt.
"We'll have a breather and a consultation now, old chap," he said with a
cheery note in his voice. "We're safely through so far, but there's a
lot to be done before we reach our comrades. It was bad luck our
hitting up against that fellow, for when the outposts are relieved at
midnight he will be found, and our flight discovered. So we may take it
that we have barely an hour's start."
"It were bad luck," agreed Tony, "but I don't see as though it weren't
worser for him. We hit up against the beggar, but I can tell yer the
knock he give us wasn't nothing to the smasher I got in on his face. It
fairly knocked the senses out of him, and will teach him to mind his own
business in future."
"Now, what's to be done, Tony?" asked Phil. "We have an hour's start,
and barely that. I am for making across to the road, and trotting along
it at our best pace. They are sure to send horsemen back by that way,
and we shall be able to hear them if we keep our ears open. Then we
will slip across the grass and hide up in some vineyard, where I expect
we shall do well to stay until the search is over."
"Look here, Phil, you're bossing this show," said Tony with some
emphasis. "I haven't a doubt but what yer proposes is the best, so
let's get off at once."
Having settled the point they promptly swung to the right, and soon were
on the post-road. Then, taking to their heels, they ran steadily along
it. Every ten minutes they halted for a few moments to listen, but,
hearing nothing, set out again. In this way they had covered some five
or six miles before shouts and galloping hoofs striking hard upon the
road behind them caught their ears. Instantly they turned on to the
grass, and, climbing a wall, ran through a large cultivated field and
hid themselves in a patch of corn beyond. It was well that they did so,
for when opposite the wall the pursuing Cossacks halted, while two of
their number dismounted, and, vaulting over it, searched in its shadow
for them.
Finding nothing they returned to their companions, and soon the beat of
hoofs again resounded along the post-road. Phil and Tony were
congratulating themselves on their safety thus far, when the latter, who
had pushed his head up through the ears of corn, strained his eyes
towards the road, and clutching Phil by the shoulders, whispered, "Hush!
I hear something." Both listened intently, but for some minutes could
neither see nor hear anything; the moon, however, was rising, and very
soon they were able to make out a solitary horseman patrolling the road.
"That settles it," muttered Phil. "Of course by creeping up to the wall
we might manage to silence that fellow, but it would do more harm than
good. At present they are uncertain of our whereabouts, but his
disappearance would tell them at once that we were in the immediate
neighbourhood. As it is, I doubt if they will think we have got so far,
for the sentries are certain to declare that they noticed our sleeping
figures up to the last moment. Tony, we must make a move, and find some
better hiding-place than this."
Stealing through the corn-patch they were not long in reaching its
margin, and then, to their chagrin, nothing but open fields met their
view.
"I fear it means lying where we are," said Phil dejectedly. "We might
easily slip across unobserved, but as far as one can see in this light
there is not a vineyard or cover of any sort in sight. We must do
something, for a couple of horsemen would quickly rout us out of this."
"I seem to remember some kind of house along this way," muttered Tony,
trying to recall the spot. "Yes, I'm sure of it, and it's away over
there, half a mile or more, I should think;" and he stretched his arm
and pointed to the right.
"Then we'll try to find it," said Phil with decision. "There is nothing
else for it, and we cannot be in a worse spot than we occupy now. I
blame myself for not having kept a better watch on our surroundings as
we passed along the road with our escort. That Cossack has ridden away
a little, so now is our time; we'll strike straight across, and trust to
luck. We haven't time to pick roads, for it will be dawn in another
hour. If they come over here they are certain to see our footmarks, but
no doubt we shall get on to grassy land soon, and that will throw them
off the scent."
Standing up for a few moments, to make sure that no enemy was near, they
plunged into the fields and walked steadily on for an hour; but still no
house was in sight. Half an hour later, when they were almost in
despair, and when a faint flush in the east and a waning of the pale,
silvery gleams of the moon heralded the approach of dawn, they caught
sight of some outbuildings on their left, and were hurrying towards
them, when Phil suddenly saw some ghostly-looking horsemen issuing from
behind them, and clutching hold of Tony, dragged him forcibly into a
narrow ditch which he was in the act of crossing.
"What's up?" asked Tony, somewhat nettled; but Phil's whispered reply,
"Cossacks! Hush!" appeased him.
The ditch was half-filled with water, but a thorough sousing is
preferable to captivity, and the two companions squeezed still closer
into it, wedging themselves into its slime and mud, and thrusting their
bodies as far as possible beneath the long grass and reeds which sprang
from its bank, for a hasty glance and approaching sounds told them that
the Russians would probably pass close at hand. Five minutes later
their voices were audible, and a series of splashes and thuds told them
that they had leapt the ditch a few yards higher up.
"They are not there, and you have led us a fine goose-chase!" Phil
heard one of the Russians angrily exclaim. "What made you take us on
such a fool's errand, Petroff?"
"It is no fool's errand," another voice replied gruffly. "I distinctly
saw two figures cross the land beyond. They are not at the farm, that
is clear; but we shall catch them, and then they shall suffer. Pigs
that all Englishmen are! I myself will tie them to a wheel and thrash
them before their comrades. It will be a good example, and our master
the Czar would approve of it."
The speakers passed on, and Phil hastily interpreted what he had
overheard.
"Whack us, will they?" muttered Tony, gritting his teeth. "That's one
more chalked up against these Cossack chaps. Pigs, indeed! Yah!" And
his indignation being too great for words, he subsided into silence.
Giving the patrol sufficient time to get well away, they sprang from the
ditch, and hastily squeezing the water from their clothes, struck across
to the outhouses. Beyond them and within fifty paces was a small
farmhouse, standing in absolutely open fields, with not a sign of a
vineyard or patch of cultivated ground, while fenced-in enclosures and
distant bleating and lowing told that this was a grazing-farm, and that
its owner did not trust to crops for his livelihood.
By this time the light was distinctly clearer and the night was rapidly
drawing to a close; so that, if they were to escape observation, it was
necessary that they should hide themselves away.
"The outhouses will be the best for us," said Phil, thinking aloud.
"Come along, Tony; we must see which one will suit us best. If they are
merely empty huts, meant for cattle, they will be of no use to us, and
we shall have to try the house, or get into an empty pig-sty or
something of the sort."
The first was simply an empty shed, and the second proved equally
useless. The third was much larger than the others, and the big, closed
doors showed it to be a coach-house.
"That will do, so we'll get inside at once," whispered Phil. "Just run
round, Tony, and see if there's a window close to the ground."
While Phil knocked out the pin that held the hasp of the door, Tony went
in search of a window, and returned to say that the only opening he
could find was a trap-door high up, evidently leading to a hay-loft.
But there was no ladder.
"Then we must find one," said Phil quickly. "It will never do to get in
and leave the door open. If we cannot find a ladder, perhaps there will
be a piece of rope inside, and we can manage it like that."
Tony disappeared again, while Phil, opening one of the huge doors,
entered the shed. In it were several arabas and heavy carts run close
together, while behind them, and pushed close against the wooden wall,
was a dilapidated and old-fashioned four-wheeled carriage, completely
covered in by an antiquated leather hood, and yet by its mere presence
there proving that the owner was a moderately well-to-do person.
"Just the thing for us," muttered Phil. "Now for a rope or a ladder."
He hunted about in the dim light, and presently came across some
harness, made of twisted hide, hanging close against the door. To take
it down and buckle the traces together was only a few minutes' work, and
by that time Tony had returned, to dolefully inform his friend that he
had searched everywhere without discovering a ladder, and that, in
addition, while prowling round the house, he had seen a light moving,
showing that its occupants were already astir.
"How'll this do, Tony?" asked Phil, producing his improvised rope.
"Now, who's to do the climbing? You--or shall I be the one?"
Tony settled the question by stepping outside and closing the door,
having taken the precaution to leave his stick with Phil. Then he
jammed the hasp to, and, having replaced the pin, ran round till he was
beneath the trap-door.
A series of niches had been left in the planks which formed the wall,
and up these Phil rapidly swarmed, and gained the loft. Throwing the
trap-door open, he lowered his rope, and sitting on the floor, with both
feet wedged against the wall, called softly to Tony to climb. Two
minutes later they were together.
"Now, Tony," said Phil, "pick up a big armful of hay and toss it down.
You will find an old coach in the corner of the shed. Take the hay
there and make all comfortable, while I close and fasten the door, and
put these traces back."
Working rapidly, for there was no saying when a hot search might be made
for them, it was not long before they were both comfortably ensconsed in
the dilapidated coach, leaving the interior of the shed as they had
found it.
"All we want now is a look-out," said Phil thoughtfully. "You stay
where you are, Tony, while I search for one. In any case I shall have
plenty of time to get back to you, for no one could get in here without
giving us plenty of warning."
"Search away, old horse--search till yer find it. I'm as comfortable
here as a prince in his palace," exclaimed Tony, with a broad grin of
contentment, throwing himself back upon the hay which filled the roomy
carriage.
Phil opened the door and stepped out. Then he searched the walls
thoroughly, finding many cracks and apertures by which he was able to
obtain a clear view of his surroundings. Better than all, he discovered
a long crevice between two planks directly behind their hiding-place.
Stepping into the carriage he closed the door, and, opening his knife,
cut a large triangular slit in the leather covering. Through this, to
Tony's absolute bewilderment, he thrust his head, and stared through the
aperture in the wall, to find that it commanded an excellent view of the
farmhouse and surroundings.
"There you are, Tony," he laughed, withdrawing his head. "That is our
look-out, and one of us must be stationed there all day. This slit I
have made is never likely to be noticed. Have a look yourself."
Tony did so, but withdrew his head almost more quickly than he had
thrust it out.
"Bust me! the Russians are already after us," he cried. "See for
yourself, Phil. They are hammering at the door of the farmhouse."
Shouts, shrill hoots, and loud hangings reached their ears, and, glueing
his eyes to the crevice, Phil saw that a party of horsemen had ridden up
and halted before the farmhouse, and within a short distance of the
outhouse in which he and his friend were hidden. A few moments later
the door of the farmhouse was opened, and a man appeared looking
somewhat startled.
"What do you want?" he asked angrily. "Am I to have no peace? It is
scarcely an hour since you roused me in search of some of your beggarly
prisoners who have escaped. Am I to be disturbed like this because you
do not keep a careful watch?"
"Gently, old man, gently," a rough fellow with a rasping voice answered.
"We are but doing the duty of our country and our master, and you had
better keep a civil and obliging tongue in your head. We know of farms
very near at hand that are farms no longer. Don't we, my comrades?" he
asked with a brutal laugh. "They were burnt--by accident, perhaps--and
their owner hangs to the nearest tree outside. Perchance--wretched
man--of his own act, and perchance, my surly friend, because he was
indiscreet."
"What do you want, then?" asked the farmer in a more civil tone,
evidently overawed by the black and lowering looks of the Cossacks, and
by the covert threats which their spokesman had uttered.
"Something good and of your beat, my friend, for we are hungry; and
after that we will search the farm once more."
"Very well, come in if you will. Here, wife," he shouted, "prepare a
meal for these good fellows."
"What's all the noise about," asked Tony impatiently, tugging at Phil's
arm.
Then when he had learnt he grumbled. "Something to eat. That's what
they're after now, is it? Young 'un, the very mention of a meal makes
me as hollow as the drum of our Grenadier band. Just keep an eye upon
them till they are out of the way, and then we'll fall to ourselves.
We've only bread and water, but I feel like tackling anything."
A little later the Cossacks had entered the house, leaving their ponies
outside, unsaddled, and tied by the halter to a long rope attached to a
ring in the door-post. A plentiful supply of corn had been given them,
and while their masters were busy with knife and fork, they ate it
hungrily, and having finished it, promptly drooped their heads and fell
asleep, for the Cossack pony, though hardy and full of strength, is a
long-suffering animal, and never knows how soon he may be called upon
for work. Therefore, having been on the move most of the night, one and
all took immediate advantage of the moment's respite given them. As for
Phil and Tony, stretching their legs and bunching a thick layer of hay
beneath them, they set to work on the bread they had saved, and enjoyed
their meal in spite of its being so simple.
An hour later there was a commotion outside, and Phil, who was on the
watch, saw the Cossacks emerge from the farmhouse.
Then they separated, and in couples searched every corner of the house
and its surroundings.
"This looks a likely kind of place," said one of them, approaching the
shed in which Phil and Tony were hidden. "Come, Petroff, we will enter
it together. I would not for the wealth of the Czar undertake the
search alone, for these English fools, though unarmed, are capable of
killing us. See how our unlucky comrade was damaged by a blow from one
of their fists. He says he remembers only thrusting at them with his
lance, and then a flash in his eyes as of a thousand stars. Truly they
are brutes who learn to strike down men with their clenched hand alone."
"What is the good of entering there?" his companion answered surlily.
"Can you not see, fool, that the door is pinned outside? There is no
other entrance but the trap-door, so how can they be there, unless,
indeed, they possess wings? For I know the ladder is within the
farmhouse. Still, we will search the place, and then can honestly say
that we have used every endeavour."
A grating sound accompanied by loud creaking followed this as both doors
were thrown wide-open to afford a better light.
Crouching close between the seats of their refuge, the two comrades
waited breathlessly, stick in hand, and with fast-beating hearts, while
the two Cossacks searched every corner of the dwelling.
"They are not here, as I said," a voice cried from the loft. "This
trap-door is bolted on the inside, and the big doors on the outside. It
is clear that our trouble is for nothing. Still," he added, having
scrambled down by means of the niches, "were I escaping from our enemies
this is the place I should choose, and that carriage over there is the
roost I should take possession of. From its size it should form most
comfortable quarters;" and as if to prove the truth of this, he crept
between the carts, and, turning the handle, attempted to open the door.
"Hang on for your life, Tony," whispered Phil, who had overheard all
that passed. "This fellow is trying to pull the door open."
Both at once clung to it, Phil grasping the handle inside, while Tony
dug his fingers into the window slits and pulled with all his strength.
"Bah!" muttered the Cossack, disappointed in his attempt. "What is the
use of a carriage with a door that does not open?" and, turning away, he
and his companion left the outhouse.
"That was a near go, Phil, old horse," whispered Tony excitedly. "I
thought it was all up, and was ready to jump out and tackle the other
beggar while you settled the fellow tugging at the door. We'd have
downed 'em, too, but I suppose they'd have given warning to the others."
"Certain to have done so, Tony. You may not know it, but the man who
was doing his best to break in here is the gentleman who proposes to
thrash us when we are captured."
"Oh, he is, is he?" was Tony's grim reply. "Wait a little while and
I'll settle the hash of that fine chap."
A quarter of an hour later Phil saw the horsemen collect together, and,
having saddled their ponies, they rode away from the farm, evidently to
the no small satisfaction of the farmer. In half an hour two of them
returned, and having unsaddled they turned their horses into a shed,
and, carrying their saddles, banged at the farmhouse door again.
"What now?" surlily asked the owner, appearing.
"Only a lodging for the two of us," one, a big burly fellow, the same
that had attempted to open the carriage door, answered with an oath.
"Come, master farmer, we want no trouble; accommodation for two, good
feeding, and plenty of that vodka we have already tasted, are what we
desire. We have been ordered here to keep a look-out for the runaways."
With a growl of displeasure the man bade them enter, and nothing more of
them was seen till the evening, when they appeared, evidently in an
intoxicated condition.
That night Phil was lowered from the trap-door by Tony, and when he
returned he brought a loaf of bread and a joint of meat, which he had
abstracted through an open window of the farmhouse, and in addition, a
pocketful of apples from a tiny orchard growing near.
The following day passed uneventfully. The two Cossacks made a thorough
search of the surroundings, and once more returned to their beloved
vodka.
That night again Phil went out in search of provender, but, in
endeavouring to reach a plate of provisions which stood upon a shelf
within the window, he upset a dish which clattered to the ground and
smashed into a thousand pieces. Instantly a window was thrown open and
a head put out.
Phil crept into the shadow and crouched low.
"Who is there?" a drunken voice called. "Comrade, there are thieves
about. Rouse yourself."
The window closed with a bang, and, darting across to the outhouse, Phil
rapidly clambered up through the trap-door, and he and Tony having
gained their hiding-place, once more waited anxiously for what was to
follow. But the Cossacks evidently preferred the comfort of a warm room
to searching for a thief who was, for all they knew, far away already.
So, grumbling that they would see to it on the morrow, they turned in
again, and soon all was quiet.
"We shall have to clear away from here, Tony," said Phil as they waited.
"The disappearance of food is certain to lead to suspicion, and we
shall be caught. To-morrow night we will make a bolt for it."
On the following morning it was evident that more than suspicion had
been aroused, and a hot search was instituted, for, from what Phil
overheard, none in the farmhouse doubted that the escaped prisoners were
close at hand. Saddling up, the Cossacks searched every corner of the
fields, and returned utterly baffled at mid-day. A feed of corn was
tossed into the shed close at hand, and the ponies driven in ready for
an instant start; then the Russians betook themselves to their favourite
bottle, and when they reappeared were evidently the worse for its
contents. But they were far from giving up the search.
"They must be close at hand," the man, whose voice Phil had heard so
often, exclaimed with an oath. "We must find them too, comrade, and
then we shall be rewarded. Where can the fools be? Ah! let us try the
coach-house again. These English, I have heard, are dense and slow, but
perhaps these two have more wits than their brothers."
"Tony, we're done for, I fear," said Phil, hastily withdrawing his head.
"This shed is to be searched again."
"We must just chance it then," grunted Tony. "It's a bad scrape we're
in, but we were lucky the other day. If this fellow does find us in
here, why, we must just silence the two of them. It's their lives or
our liberty, and I'm determined to get out of their hands. Lie low, old
boy, and if these coves spot us it'll be the worse for them."
Tony shook his stick threateningly, and was on the point of launching
into an elaborate explanation of the exact punishment he would mete out
to the Cossack who had promised his friends to thrash the fugitives,
when the door of the shed was thrown open with a bang, and the two
Russians reeled in.
"Search the loft, comrade," said the big man authoritatively. "This
spirit of our friend's is good and powerful stuff, and my legs are none
too steady."
The man did as he was told, and, peeping through the window, Phil
watched him laboriously climbing to the loft, looking as though he might
lose his grip and fall at any moment.
The big man stood still for a second, stroking his beard. Then,
evidently struck once more by the appearance of the covered carriage, he
crept towards it.
"What is this?" he muttered loudly when a few paces away. "Is it the
vodka, or did I turn that handle and leave it so?" With an effort he
pulled himself together; suddenly remembering that he had indeed turned
the handle and neglected to restore it to its usual position, and
realising that it was now closed, he gave a drunken shout and rushed at
the door.