Then In
The Evening Came The Tidings Of The Overthrow Of The Defending Army,
And Of The March Of The Enemy On Buenos Ayres City!
On the following
day, from dawn to dark, we were in the midst of an incessant stream of
the
Defeated men, flying to the south, in small parties of two or
three to half a dozen men, with some larger bands, all in their
scarlet uniforms and armed with lances and carbines and broadswords,
many of the bands driving large numbers of horses before them.
My father was warned by the neighbours that we were in great danger,
since these men were now lawless and would not hesitate to plunder and
kill in their retreat, and that all riding-horses would certainly be
seized by them. As a precaution he had the horses driven in and
concealed in the plantation, and that was all he would do. "Oh no," he
said, with a laugh, "they won't hurt us," and so we were all out and
about all day with the front gate and all doors and windows standing
open. From time to time a band on tired horses rode to the gate and,
without dismounting, shouted a demand for fresh horses. In every case
he went out and talked to them, always with a smiling, pleasant face,
and after assuring them that he had no horses for them they slowly and
reluctantly took their departure.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, the hottest hour of the day, a
troop of ten men rode up at a gallop, raising a great cloud of dust,
and coming in at the gate drew rein before the verandah.
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