I must hide myself for the day, and then devote the next night to my escape.

I took the saddle, holsters, and bridle from poor Voltigeur, and I concealed them among some bushes, so that no one finding him could know that he was a French horse.

Then, leaving him lying there, I wandered on in search of some place where I might be safe for the day.

In every direction I could see camp fires upon the sides of the hills, and already figures had begun to move around them.

I must hide quickly, or I was lost.
But where was I to hide?
It was a vineyard in which I found myself, the poles of the vines still standing, but the plants gone.