Page:Tomlinson--The rider of the black horse.djvu/45

Rh in which direction he went! Have n't you a horse anywhere about the place?"

"No. Nein."

"I must go without one, then!" exclaimed Robert. "I must get Nero again! I can't go on without him! I 'll be back—sometime," he called; and almost before the startled Dirck was aware of what was occurring, Robert had turned and fled from the barn and was running swiftly along the road in the direction in which the faint outlines of the man and beast had disappeared a few moments before.

There were no plans in the mind of the furious young soldier, only a wild impulse to follow until he had overtaken the thief and secured his stolen horse. In his belt was the pistol he had carried with him, but both belt and pistol were in Dirck's house, where he had left them when he had seated himself at the supper-table. He was consequently unarmed, but he had no thought of weapons or what might befall if he was so fortunate as to overtake the man who had made off with his horse. For the moment his wild rage seemed to provide all the weapons he required, and he ran on and on until at last he was compelled to stop and regain his breath.

Not a trace of man or horse had he secured.