He dodged the answer and fired again.
"Vive l'Empereur!" called the hussars, responding, but the boy, turning suddenly, leaped the wagon to the left; then, as the Frenchmen started to follow, he turned on his heel, dived behind the rear of his barricade and, turning, fled, gaining time as he ran.
"Bravo! Bravo!" called the cousin, and Hans brightened at even this slight show of Prussian courage. With shots pursuing, unharmed, the boy fled on, the French behind, until dusk wrapped in its dimness both pursued and pursuers.
Hans and Herr Schmelze strained their eyes to see the end of the unequal combat, but the battlefield and flying soldiers faded alike in the gloom.
"I must go home," said Herr Schmelze, suddenly remembering his Lotte, "and you, Hans?"
"I'm off to Jena."
The cousin eyed him curiously.
"Hans," he said, "is it wise to leave Annchen alone with the children? The house is lonely and will be in the path of the soldiers, if they should break through the forest."
The old man's mind was full only of the battle.
"Nein, nein, Conrad," he said. "I sent Anna a message by Minna Schneiderwint. She was to take the children and go at once to her husband's father. She is there now, that is certain."