“Oh! don’t worry about that,” Giraffe told him; “there won’t be any burning done. You stand more chance of freezing to death right now; so get that blanket, Bumpus. Hold on, stay where you are, and I’ll fetch one for you; it isn’t safe to have you moving around so much.”
Thad soon went back to his own room and provided himself with the bed covers which he divided with Allan. There was really nothing new to report. More men and horses kept pushing up to the pump and the water trough. The handle of the former kept up a continual groaning as strong arms worked it constantly, to keep the trough from running dry.
“Here the officers come out again,” remarked Allan; “they’ve had their wine, and mean to let the landlord off easy this time. Perhaps they’re in too big a hurry to stay long in one place. That was the call to mount we just heard. And, Thad, this is about as thrilling a scene as we’ve ever looked at.”
“Yes,” added the other, “and inside of a week half of those fine strapping big fellows may be dead, for all we know. They take their lives in their hands when they go galloping across an enemy’s country this way. Any hour they are likely to find themselves in a trap, with deadly rapid-fire guns pouring a hail of bullets into the troop, cutting down horses and men. It’s terrible just to think of it.”
They saw the Uhlans begin to gallop away, with a sense of great relief. The little pennons at the ends of their long lances fluttered in the night air. Seen in the mellow moonlight it was an inspiring picture that made the hearts of the onlookers beat faster than usual.
“I don’t like that, though,” Thad was muttering as he watched, with the last of the troop leaving the watering trough.
“What is it, Thad,” demanded Allan, who had just barely caught the low words.
“Don’t you see which way they’re going?” asked the patrol leader.
“Why, they seem to have come into town from the left-hand road, and are leaving by the one that runs toward the southwest,” replied Allan.
“Well, that’s our course to-morrow, you know,” Thad continued, with a meaning in his voice that could not well be mistaken.