"
Thereupon this strange pair, both very fleet of foot, set off running,
side by side, the brigand holding Chiquita by the hand, so as to give
her all the aid and support he could, and they quickly passed out of
sight. No sooner had they departed than the crows came swooping down
from their perch in the nearest tree, and fell to fiercely upon their
horrible feast, in which they were almost directly joined by several
ravenous wolves--and they made such good use of their time, that in
a few hours nothing remained of the poor old horse but his bones, his
tail, and his shoes. When somewhat later the tyrant arrived, accompanied
by one of Bellombre's farm-hands, leading the horse that was to take
the chariot back with them, he was naturally astonished to find only the
skeleton, with the harness and trappings, still intact, about it, for
neither birds nor beasts had interfered with them, and his surprise was
increased when he discovered the half-devoured carcass of the wolf lying
under the chariot wheels. There also, scattered on the road, were the
sham louis-d'or that did duty upon the stage when largesses were to be
distributed; and upon the snow were the traces, clearly defined, of the
footsteps of a man, approaching the chariot from the way it had come,
and of those of the same man, and also of a child, going on beyond it.
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