Page:Narrative of a captivity and adventures in France and Flanders between the years 1803 and 1809.djvu/167

 head, in the stable, out of sight. Day after day elapsed, without any relaxation in this decree.

Feeling how precarious was our situation, Hunter and myself proposed to reconnoitre the woods, in order to find out the most secure asylum, in the event of being disturbed. About two P. M., the boy first looking out to see if the coast was clear, we sallied forth on the high road to Bruges, but had scarcely gone a mile, when two horse gens d' armes were observed coming towards us: being then near a gate, we struck off into a large ploughed field, surrounded with wood, and, when screened from the gens d' armes by the hedge, took to our heels. It appeared, that, no sooner did they observe us turn off the road, than they galloped for the gate; for they entered the field just as we were about to reach the wood. Luckily, there was a wide ditch, so over-*flowed, that part of the wood was inundated; we instantly plunged in, swam over, escaped into the interior, and there lay concealed until dark, when we re