Page:Narrative of a captivity and adventures in France and Flanders between the years 1803 and 1809.djvu/146

 No sooner had we regained the road, than our companions joined us; from them we learnt, that, being alarmed at seeing the window closed, they were on the point of bursting open the door; when, peeping through the shutter, they saw every thing that passed within, and, wishing to be of the party, gave the rap which alarmed our friendly hostess. Continuing our march for the coast, we passed through a village about midnight, stopping occasionally to listen, with delight, to the pleasing monotony of the waves rolling over the beach, which, as we approached, created feelings of enjoyment that I had never before experienced. Between twelve and one A. M. we entered the village of Blankenberg, protected from the sea by the sand bank. Observing a large gateway, apparently the road to the beach, I passed through to reconnoitre, leaving my companions in the street; to my great consternation, I found myself near a guard-house, and close to a sentry-box, from which I had the good fortune to retreat, unobserved. Proceeding through the village, to the westward,