"So we are," answered the boy, coolly. "We had better ride one by one. Then if I make a mistake, I shall be the first to pay for it."
Thus saying, he rode on boldly and rapidly, till, at the end of about half a league, the swampy ground ceased, and the country began to rise a little. Ascending by gradual slopes the road which they now followed, and which was clearly enough defined by its sandy colour, gained a considerable elevation above the sea; and Richmond was just in the act of observing that they must have got at least eight miles from Vannes, when they heard the distant report of a cannon boom upon the air, and Dorset exclaimed:
"What may that mean?"
"That they have found out you are gone," said the boy, laughing.
"Did it seem to come from Vannes?" demanded Richmond.
"To a certainty," answered the boy. "The wind sets this way; but it is our own fault if they catch us now."
No other indication of pursuit reached their ears as they pursued their way, till at length the boy, pointing forward with his hand, said:
"There is Redon. You can either go through the town or by the ford. The ford is shortest."
"And safest too, in all probability," replied Richmond.
"I think they could hear that gun," said the boy, "if they could but make out what it meant."