But it had acquired an extraordinary habit of moving further and further away.

He had to exert his will so hard that his hand fairly trembled on his bridle rein.

Yet he remained master of himself, and went on sitting the saddle in the slouchy attitude that he had adopted when he knew himself to be observed.
The wood was only three or four hundred yards away, when far to his left he saw several horsemen appear on a slope, and he was quite sure that their uniforms were blue.

The distance to the wood was now so short that the temptation to gallop was powerful, but he still resisted.
Pride, too, helped him and he did not increase the pace of his horse a particle.

He saw the dark, cool shadow very near now, and he thought he heard one of the new horsemen on his left shout to him.