“If the mynheers do not wish to be made prisoners, they had better be out of the village as soon as they can saddle up,” he said. “I caught sight of a party of horsemen just passing the border of the Meer where the willows grow; there must have been a dozen of them or more; but I only stopped to count thus far and then took to my heels, expecting every moment to have a shot whistle by my ears.”
“You have done well, Hans,” said the landlord.
“And here is a reward for your service,” added Berthold, giving the youth a coin.
“I did it of my own free will,” answered Hans. “It is not the first time I have been set to watch the Spaniards, or that they have tried to catch me, and found that they had a Will-o’-the-Wisp to deal with; but this was an easy task, and nothing to boast of.” Hans was saying this while he was assisting Berthold to replace the bit in the horse’s mouth, and to tighten the girth of his saddle, the landlord rendering the same service to Captain Van der Elst. The next moment they were in the saddle and pushing full speed through the village to the southward. Should they be discovered, they would not only run the risk of being shot at, but would expose the landlord to punishment for having entertained them. Looking back, they could see no one following, and hoped, therefore, that they had escaped observation, while their horses, refreshed, made up for the short delay by getting on at full speed. They soon passed the village of Bleiswijk, between which and the next place ran a broad causeway forming the high road to Rotterdam. Though the gloom of evening was increasing, there was still sufficient light to enable them to see objects at some distance. Berthold, who knew the road best, was leading, when suddenly he reined in his horse, and made a sign with his right hand for his companion to do the same.
“See, just coming from the right, are a score of horsemen; they may be Hollanders, or Free Lances, though from the height of their helmets they look more like Spaniards,” he exclaimed. “We had better avoid them.”
“How is that to be done?” asked Captain Van der Elst.
“We passed just now on the left a narrow dyke, which runs, I know, in a south-westerly direction; at the farther end is a bridge which leads across the Rotte. If we are pursued, we must leave the road and ride across the country. We can without difficulty swim the river, when the Spaniards, with the heavy trappings of their horses, would not be able to follow.”
Scarcely had Berthold said this when they could see against the sky the figures of a large number of horsemen moving along a road to the right.
“We might even now, by dismounting, lead our horses down into the plain, and perhaps escape observation,” said Berthold.
“No, no, as we can see them they must have discovered us,” said the captain. “Lead the way across the dyke you spoke of; I will follow closely at your heels.”