Every instant the beating of those hurrying hoofs was louder and
louder. I put my Arab at the pig-sty. She cleared the front
beautifully and came down with her forefeet upon the sleeping pig
within, slipping forward upon her knees. I was thrown over the
wall beyond, and fell upon my hands and face in a soft
flower-bed. My horse was upon one side of the wall, I upon the
other, and the Prussians were pouring into the yard. But I was
up in an instant and had seized the bridle of the plunging horse
over the top of the wall. It was built of loose stones, and I
dragged down a few of them to make a gap. As I tugged at the
bridle and shouted the gallant creature rose to the leap, and an
instant afterward she was by my side and I with my foot on the
stirrup.
An heroic idea had entered my mind as I mounted into the saddle.
These Prussians, if they came over the pig- sty, could only come
one at once, and their attack would not be formidable when they
had not had time to recover from such a leap. Why should I not
wait and kill them one by one as they came over? It was a
glorious thought.
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