20 GALA DAY BOOKS.

places with the Hessian officer now.
But their uniforms were on and the
battle begun, so it was too late to
suggest an exchange.

The battle proceeded. The two ar-
mies had advanced simultaneously and
both officers had given the command to
“Fire!” when something occurred that
was not down on the program. The
black mare was struck by the wad of a
blank cartridge and ran away. She had
never heard the din of war before that
day, and she ran like a mad thing away
from the smoke and uproar. She took
the bridle bit between her teeth and
ran down the road at a pace that. horri-
fied beholders. The boy and the animal
were enveloped in a cloud of dust, but
it could still be seen that he clung to
her back. The battle was forgotten.
Soldiers and spectators ran forward and