'Bravo, M. le Caporal! get your dragoons on horseback. Musketeers, unpile arms, and look to your matches; though I believe the troopers and I will save you all trouble in this matter.'
While the dragoons were bitting their horses and mounting, and while the musketeers stood to their arms, the moon rose fully above the mountain ridge, pouring a clear, cold, steady light into the narrow vale, along which I could see certain dark and indistinct objects approaching; and as they drew near, six horsemen became visible, escorting a large coach, which was drawn by four black horses, and had two valets behind it. The horsemen were accoutred with holsters, swords, and carbines: three appeared to be gentlemen, having feathers in their hats. With my sword in one hand, and a cocked pistol in the other, I dashed forward at the head of my ten dragoons to bar the passage.
'Halt!' I exclaimed: 'halt, and surrender!'
'In whose name?' demanded a gentleman, drawing a pistol from his holster.
'In the name of Louis of France and Navarre.'
'Perish thou and he together!' replied the other, firing his pistol full in my face; but, fortunately, I made my horse plunge, and so disturbed his aim that the ball whizzed harmlessly past me. 'Forward, messieurs,' he added; 'break through these marauders!'
'Advance,' I exclaimed; 'cut down all who resist.'
'France—France and Navarre!' shouted my troopers, as they fell on with sword and pistol.
I heard the screams of women inside the huge lumbering coach, which was immediately stopped, for the traces were cut, the reins wrenched from the hands of the driver, and two of the horses were shot. A confused firing of pistols, and clashing of swords, with a vast display of kicking, spurring, and hallooing ensued in the moonlight; but in a trice the carriage was ours; three of the attendants were shot, and six, including the valets and driver were taken, dismounted, disarmed, and handed over to the musketeers, who freed the traces from the dead animals, and immediately put the wheels once more into motion; but now, in the direction of Lutzelstein.
All this uproar and loss of life ensued, and was over, almost in the time I have taken to narrate it.