158 THE WONDER-BOOK OF HORSES 



were in sight. Ten men — ^yes, a thousand men — 

 with lances poised and swords drawn, ready to 

 fall upon Ogier wherever they might* find him, 

 were coming pell-mell along the highway! 



Broiefort was desperate. He seized his mas- 

 ter by the collar, and lifting him to his feet shook 

 him roughly. Ogier awoke just in time. He 

 vaulted quickly into the saddle, while the lances 

 of his foremost pursuers almost grazed his armor. 

 His faithful steed leaped forward, and in a few 

 moments he was safely out of reach and out of 

 hearing again. 



For three whole days Broiefort carried his 

 master through mountain passes and forests, so 

 closely pressed that there was no time to stop 

 anywhere for food or rest. For three months 

 the chase was kept up, although the pursuers now 

 and then lost track of the fugitives long enough 

 to allow Ogier to rest a night in some out-of-the- 

 way castle, where Broiefort was sure to be re- 

 galed with a measure of oats. At last, after many 

 adventures, they reached one of Ogier's old 

 strongholds on the river Rhone, where — accord- 

 ing to the historian — they were besieged by 

 Charlemagne with an army of ten thousand 

 warriors. 



