Hoping to elude pursuit, he chose a path leading through a deep ravine which he well remembered from his hunting expeditions. It formed a part of an Austrian noble's estate. A mountain stream flowed through this ravine, its waters being dammed at one place to form a large mill-pond and a fishing basin, and also to supply necessary irrigation at certain seasons. Richard's hastily formed plan was to push on past the mill and open the sluices on his way, thus flooding the narrow valley and cutting off his pursuers, who were seen to be Otto Palvicz's heavy cavalry. One contingency, however, had not occurred to him, namely, that the trick he intended to play on Otto Palvicz might be played by some one else on himself. At a turn in the ravine not far from the mill, Paul came galloping back with the advance-guard and reported that the whole valley ahead was under water. The miller had told him that the dam had been opened only a short time before by the forester. It had evidently been done to cut off the hussars. Richard spurred forward to the mill. Only a narrow dike offered a passage across the ravine, and even this dike had been destroyed for a space of several yards, leaving only the piles projecting from the water. "Never mind," said Richard, nothing dismayed by the prospect; "go and bring two or three doors from the mill and lay them on the piles to form a bridge." The order was promptly executed, but the horses refused to cross on this improvised structure. "They are afraid because it is white," said Paul. "Cover it with mud," commanded Richard. "That won't do," objected the old hussar, "because then we can't burn it behind us." "Right, Paul; we must set it on fire as soon as we are over. Perhaps we can find some tar in the mill." A whole barrel of tar was discovered after some search, and a portion of it poured over the bridge. Now, however, the horses were more recalcitrant than before; their hoofs slipped on the tarred boards, and the hollow sound given back by the frail bridge served to increase their fear. Old Paul swore like a heathen. "Here we are caught in a pretty trap," said he. "Oh, no," replied Richard, reassuringly. "We two must dismount, and one of us lead the horses by the bridle while the other urges them on from behind. The riders will stay in their saddles." It was a task, indeed, to get all the rearing, plunging, and thoroughly frightened animals, one after another, over the shaky bridge. The riders cursed, old Paul invoked all the saints in the calendar, and Richard plied his whip with an unsparing hand, until, at last, the passage was accomplished. It had been attended with so much noise, however, that no human ear within miles around could have failed to hear it.