Belle Rose: A Romance of the Cloak and Sword — page 362: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

344 THE RHINE. hear him. When he was some steps from his tent, Belle- Rose took his horse by the bridle, swathed its feet with linen, and moved away from the camp. After he had passed the last sentinel, he left at a gallop in the direction of the river. The swathed feet of the horse struck the ground noiselessly. Upon the other bank were to be seen the fires of the Dutch bivouacs and in the midst of the silence of the night was to be heard the cries of the sen- tries who were answering each other. Belle-Rose rode his horse into the Rhine and slowly followed its windings and turnings. He had been gone from the camp three or four hours when a cannon-shot awoke the sergeant in surprise. Déroute opened his eyes and looked around him; there was no one in the tent except Grippard, who was snoring un- concernedly. Cornelius was with Monsieur de Naucrais. Another cannon-shot drew Déroute from his lethargic immobility; he bounded to his feet and rushed out of the tent. A dozen detonations which burst upon the other bank made him run in the direction of the Rhine, no longer doubting but what Belle-Rose had, for some uncer- tain enterprise, taken his way in that direction. As he approached the bank, he saw a man on horseback ad- vancing toward him at a gallop. Déroute recognized Belle-Rose in spite of the night. ‘*Hey! captain!’’ he cried, ‘‘are you the cause of all that stir over the way.’’ ‘*In faith, it is impossible,’’ said Belle-Rose. He had scarcely finished speaking, when a flash illumin- ated the Tower of Tolhus, and a ball demolished the trunk of a willow at twenty steps from them. ‘‘Now I am certain of it,’’ said Déroute, with a tranquil air. ‘‘Ah! my God,’’ he added, “how wet you are; where the devil do you come from?’’ ‘“‘From the Rhine, apparently,’’ replied Belle-Rose, wringing his cloak which was dripping water. ‘“‘The bath has not been without music, but I fail to see the use of it.’’ Belle-Rose smiled. ‘‘When I was quite a child,’’ said he, placing his hand upon the sergeant’s shoulder, ‘‘my father often made me read in a great book in which all that which comes from the heart is written. In this book, there was a phrase which struck me at the time and whichI have never forgotten since,”’ **What phrase?’’ ‘This is it: ‘Seek and you will find.’ ”’