and out into the open like a hare. He went across three ploughed fields before they took up on him. Then he headed for the hill like a fool, and I knew all was over with him, for I could see he was dead beat, and not fit for the climb. The others were trained running men, being soldiers,' said old Dan, with a sly glance at my uniform. 'They should be.—Well, I shouted to him and waved my hands. But it was no use. He rushed on, and discovered his fault when it was too late; then he turned and ran right back amongst his enemies. What possessed him I cannot tell. He may have thought to get through them, or went blindly, like a hare does, into the mouths of the dogs. And like a hare among dogs they tossed him, and left him for dead. So there was nothing for me to do but to go and tell his widow.
'I stood before the door for a long time trying to find pluck enough to go inside, for you never can tell how a woman will take a thing. She was a big woman with a tongue that was never easy. She and Mike, I often heard, led a cat-and-dog life. They had never done argufying and scolding at one another. You would think she would
