In obedience to the orders he had received, Bouchier, with his
followers, continued riding about the forest during the whole night, but
without finding anything to reward his search, until about dawn it
occurred to him to return to the trees on which the bodies were
suspended. As he approached them he fancied he beheld a horse
standing beneath the nearest tree, and immediately ordered his
followers to proceed as noiselessly as possible, and to keep under the
cover of the wood. A nearer advance convinced him that his eyes had
not deceived him. It was a swart, wild-looking horse that he beheld,
with eyes that flamed like carbuncles, while a couple of bodies,
evidently snatched from the branches, were laid across his back. A
glance at the trees, too, showed Bouchier that they had been
considerably lightened of their hideous spoil.
Seeing this, Bouchier dashed forward. Alarmed by the noise, the wild
horse neighed loudly, and a dark figure instantly dropped from the tree
upon its back, and proceeded to disencumber it of its load. But before
this could be accomplished, a bolt from a cross-bow, shot by one of
Bouchier's followers, pierced the animal's brain.
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