Page:A Gentleman From France (1924).djvu/127

 deafening sounds long after he had passed out of range. The night was full of horrors. The whole world was full of fierce men with thunder sticks and they were all after him.

Finally the roadway led through a deep wood, and Pierre was very glad. He left the road and struck off into the woods.

The darker it was and the thicker the underbrush the better it suited him. Here was a place to hide. The sweet green woods protected him, just as it has many another hunted animal, or even man.

Finally in the very heart of the woods he crawled under the top of a fallen tree to rest. He was so weak he could hardly stand. His breath came in wheezy gasps. He lay very still and tried to sleep.

But the wound pained him intensely, so he sat up and licked it steadily for an hour.