In front of me I could see the grey break of dawn struggling among the heavy clouds.

Behind me swept the rain, buffeting me forward.

Somewhere or other I must find shelter from the night.
No sooner had I resolved upon this than the sound of a horse approaching at full gallop sent my teeth chattering in real earnest.

I had barely time to dart to the roadside and hide below the hedge when a horseman swept by.

By his look he was not a soldier or an ordinary traveller, such as the courier I had seen set out from Brest.