They
learned his place of retreat, and pursued him, his presence of mind
alone saving him from capture. Seeing them approach, he took a sledge
upon his shoulders, and walked towards and past them as though he were a
servant of the house.
His next place of refuge was in a cave on the Gemshaken, in which he
remained until the opening of spring, when he had the ill-fortune to be
carried by a snow-slide a mile and a half into the valley. It was
impossible to return. He crept from the snow, but found that one of his
legs was dislocated. The utmost he could do, and that with agonizing
pain, was to drag himself to a neighboring hut. Here were two men, who
carried him to his own house at Rinn.
Bavarians were quartered in the house, and the only place of refuge open
to him was the cow-shed, where his faithful servant Zoppel dug for him a
hole beneath the bed of one of the cows, and daily supplied him with
food. His wife had returned to the house, but the danger of discovery
was so great that even she was not told of his propinquity.
For seven weeks he remained thus half buried in the cow-shed, gradually
recovering his strength.
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