Little Peter rode his horse and ran forward with his head down, and the old man sat on the other horse with a sad look and did not say a word.

Running and running, Eva said worriedly: "It's not a way to go on like this, if the other party chases us, we won't be able to run away." There was fear and nervousness in her voice. Little Peter and the old man did not say a word after hearing this, but gradually stopped their horses.

The old man looked around and said, "There is no place to hide in this area, so let's continue to run ahead." ”

Little Peter looked at him, and saw that his eyes revealed a fine light, his face was grim, and the whole person rode on the horse, and emitted a majestic momentum, which made people surprised. Little Peter didn't have time to think about the reason, so he hurriedly chased after the old man and continued to gallop his horse.

In a short time they came to a stream. On the other side of the bank was an endless grassland, which seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, and the grass was estimated to be more than a man tall.

Eva looked at it and hurriedly said, "We need to cross the river to take shelter in the grassland, Peter, you and Grandpa cross the river first and hurry up." I'll first divert the possible pursuers from behind, and I'll be back in a moment. ”

After speaking, she didn't wait for Little Peter to agree, turned over and dismounted, first helped the old man off the horse, and then held Little Peter's hand hard, looked directly into his eyes, and said in a firm tone: "Remember, just hide in the grass and don't come out." Don't worry, I'll be fine. You've grown up, you're a man, don't cry. Hurry up and cross the river with grandpa, and grandpa will hand it over to you. ”

Little Peter held back tears and bit his lip and squeezed Eva's hands with his backhand, he opened his mouth but couldn't speak. I could only nod vigorously, let go of my hand, and slowly walked towards the other side of the river with the old man in his hands.

Eva glanced at him nostalgically and quietly erased the footprints of the people on the ground. She slapped one horse hard, and then without hesitation, she rolled over the other horse and ran downstream.

Little Peter grabbed the old man's arm tightly and went forward in the not particularly wide stream, and slowly his ankles, knees, thighs, lower abdomen, and chest were submerged in the water. He struggled to raise his head, little by little, slowly, but with great determination, and walked towards the other side.

The old man's thick gasps rang in his ears, and he squinted his eyes and looked up at the sky, barely letting the tears fall.

When they had reached the middle of the stream, they heard the sound of horses' hooves behind them, and little Peter was frightened, his face turned pale, and he trembled, but he panicked. The old man took a hard breath and slammed his head into the stream. Little Peter involuntarily lay down in the water and saw the old man also quietly crawl down.

The old man pulled little Peter and hid it downward, and a few splashes of water rose from the stream, and a few ripples slowly disappeared.

The other looked at the other bank, then at the stream, and finally at the footprints on the bank, and then groaned, and said, "It doesn't feel like it, if you look at the footprints, there are no people, maybe they are running downstream." ”

"Then let's not waste time, let's chase it. The two horsemen gradually ran downstream, and disappeared.

After half a ring, little Peter poked his head out vigorously and kept coughing, breathing heavily. His face was flushed, and his consciousness was a little blurred. The old man slowly floated up, his face was also red, his chest rose and fell sharply, and he breathed in the air hard.

After they had calmed down, they hurried up to the opposite riverbank. As soon as they landed, the two collapsed on the ground. Little Peter only felt powerless, lazy and did not want to move.

He reluctantly opened his eyes and looked at it, and found that the old man's face was flushed, and he couldn't help but be anxious, he reached out and touched the old man's forehead, only to feel that the temperature was amazingly hot. He panicked all of a sudden, and shook the old man's body again and again, but to no avail. The old man was in a coma.

Little Peter wiped the sweat from his forehead and calmed down his emotions, and first carried the old man into the grass not far away and hid it. He hurriedly rummaged through his bags to find medicine and warmth.

After searching for a long time, he only found a few blankets, and he wrapped the blankets tightly around the old man. He sat on the ground and tears flowed down his frightened little face.

He bent his legs, put his arms on his knees, hid his head in his arms, and bent his whole body into a circle, crying secretly. After crying for a long time, he felt the cold and couldn't help but shiver. He looked up and found that the sky had darkened, and there was only a hint of coolness blowing in the silence of the wind in the whole grassland.

Little Peter's eyes were red and swollen from crying, and he first wiped his glasses with the back of his hand and then carefully observed the old man's condition.

The old man breathed steadily, his face was not so red, he touched his forehead, although the temperature was still a little hot, it was not as scary as just now. Little Peter let out a sigh of relief, and he looked around, and for the first time he saw that he didn't know what to do without the old man and William. Without the guidance of others, he no longer knows what to do.

Little Peter angrily slammed one hand into a fist and struck the ground below him, secretly hating his weakness. Just as he was feeling panicked and overwhelmed, he heard an old man's groan.

He hurriedly rushed over and helped the old man sit up, and asked in a low voice, "Grandpa, how do you feel?"

The old man opened his eyes in a daze, and after trying to see the person in front of him clearly, he smiled with relief: "Peter, I'm fine." Don't worry, it'll be fine. ”

Little Peter's tears overflowed his eyes, and he cried in a hoarse voice: "Well, grandpa, we'll be fine." And Uncle William and Eva will be fine. He cried and nodded his little head vigorously, as if this was the only way to give himself a pitiful sense of security.

The old man looked at him and smiled, tremblingly stretched out a hand and touched his face, and then whispered, "What are you crying about?" Do you remember what I told you before, you are no longer a child, you have grown up? You can't cry when you grow up. Don't worry, your Uncle William will be fine. He looked kindly at little Peter, trying to keep his appearance in his heart. After speaking, with the help of little Peter, he tightened the blanket on his body.

He watched as the sky darkened, his glasses flashed with memories, and his tone was low and cheerful, slowly telling about his past experiences.

"You know what, Peter. When I first met you, Uncle William, he was about your age. I was in my thirties at that time, and one day I came back from hunting and saw a little boy about fifteen or sixteen years old in a forest. The kid was so thin that people felt chills in their hearts. He walked alone in the forest for I don't know how long he walked in front of me and fainted. The old man fell into the memory and said slowly.

"I was amazed when I looked at the kid. Actually, I still don't know how I took him in at that time. Maybe that's fate. ”

"That kid, like you, has no parents, no name, and nothing when he first met me. You know, every time I see you, I think of William as a child. It's so similar, that child followed me and slowly gained status, wealth, power, and love. The old man's face showed a hint of relief and pride.

"One day, when he ran up to me and asked me what my name was, I couldn't answer him. I felt very uncomfortable when I saw his sad gaze. ”

So, I named him. It's called Frederick William. ”