The
last of the Prussians had passed, and both my road and my duty
lay clear before me. If France won, all well. If France lost,
then on me and my little mare depended that which was more than
victory or defeat--the safety and the life of the Emperor. "On,
Etienne, on!" I cried.
"Of all your noble exploits, the greatest, even if it be the
last, lies now before you!"
II. THE STORY OF THE NINE PRUSSIAN HORSEMEN
I told you when last we met, my friends, of the important mission
from the Emperor to Marshal Grouchy, which failed through no
fault of my own, and I described to you how during a long
afternoon I was shut up in the attic of a country inn, and was
prevented from coming out because the Prussians were all around
me. You will remember also how I overheard the Chief of the
Prussian Staff give his instructions to Count Stein, and so
learned the dangerous plan which was on foot to kill or capture
the Emperor in the event of a French defeat. At first I could
not have believed in such a thing, but since the guns had
thundered all day, and since the sound had made no advance in my
direction, it was evident that the English had at least held
their own and beaten off all our attacks.
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