"I will try to do so," replied the clerical soldier, "I saw them coming when I was on the top of the mountain. I hurried my poor horse till he broke down under me; and I had to run on foot the rest of the way."
"Rest yourself, Joseph. If you saw the guerillas from the top of the mountain, there is no hurry; for they will not reach my house this half-hour," added the colonel.
"You shall have another horse, my reverend friend," interposed the commander, as he ordered the sentinel to send for a spare steed.
"Now, Joseph, where were the guerillas when you saw them?" inquired the magnate.
"They were on the Cliff Road, just coming around the bend."
"That is four miles from my house, and five from here," continued the colonel.
"But I have been a long time coming here," suggested Mr. Elbroon.
"Excuse me, Colonel Coffee; I should like a little more definite information in regard to the road by which these guerillas will approach the village," interposed the commander.
"I don't think they will approach the village at all, Major Lyon. I have not the remotest doubt that my mansion is their objective point; and they will first plunder that."