'With them,' he muttered.
'Then come,' I whispered rising. 'I have seen what I want. Let
us go.'
But he caught me by the arm and detained me.
'You don't know the way,' he said. 'Steady, steady, Monsieur.
You go too fast. They are just moving. Let us join them, and
strike in when the time comes. We must let them guide us.'
'Fool!' I said, shaking off his hand. 'I tell you, I know where
he is! I know where they are going. Come, and we will pluck the
fruit while they are on the road to it.'
His only answer was an exclamation of surprise. At that moment
the lights began to move. The Lieutenant was starting. The moon
was not yet up, the sky was grey and cloudy; to advance where we
were was to step into a wall of blackness. But we had lost too
much already, and I did not hesitate. Bidding my companion
follow me and use his legs, I sprang through a low fence which
rose before us; then stumbling blindly over some broken ground in
the rear of the houses, I came with a fall or two to a little
watercourse with steep sides. Through this I plunged recklessly
and up the farther side, and, breathless and panting, gained the
road, beyond the village, and fifty yards in advance of the
Lieutenant's troop.
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