Chapter 13: Escape.
Oswald, who was thoroughly fatigued with the events of the lastthirty-six hours, slept soundly, on an armful of rushes that his hostthrew down in a corner of the room for him. At eight o'clock, the manwho had spoken to him on the previous evening came in.
"I have spoken to William Baird," he said. "I told him that you seemeda likely fellow. He called down the monk, and asked him severalquestions about you; and he told me, at last, that I could bring you upto see him. So come along, at once."
"Thanks, comrade," Oswald said, as he slung his long two-handed swordfrom his shoulder.
"A likely-looking young fellow, indeed," Baird said to Rotherglen, whomhe had sent for to be present; "over six feet and, I should fancy, hasnot attained his full width.
"So you would fain take service with me?" he said.
"I want a master," Oswald replied, "and from what I hear, I am morelikely to see fighting, under you, than under any other on the border."
"And you were with George Dunbar?"
"I was," Oswald replied. "But indeed, the service was not altogether tomy taste, for we were always pent up in Dunbar; and, save in a streetbroil, there was no need to draw a sword. I was glad enough to leavehis service, though in truth, I have fared but badly, since."
"Now do you question him, Rotherglen."
A number of questions were put to Oswald, concerning the names of thestreets, the direction, the name of the principal inns, and theapproaches to the castle. All these were satisfactorily replied to.
"He knows Dunbar, there is no question about that.
"And you can use your arms?"
"I think so."
"We will have a trial," Baird said. "A man is no use to me, who cannotuse his weapon. Send Robert here."
In a minute, one of the young Bairds entered. He was a man of abouttwenty-five, tall and sinewy, and was accounted the best swordsman ofhis family.
"Cousin Robert," William Baird said, "this young fellow would enter ourservice; but before I take him, I must see that he knows his business.Do you take a turn with the sword with him.
"No, no, not a two-handed sword; I don't want him to be slain. Take acouple of swords from the wall. Give him another steel cap, and fullbody armour. That of his own would not keep out a good, downrightstroke."
By the time that Oswald was armed, a number of the Bairds and theirfriends had assembled in the hall, hearing of what was going to takeplace.
"A fine young fellow, truly," Rotherglen said. "In height and width, hematches Robert well, though of course your cousin must be the morepowerful, seeing that he is some four or five years older than thisyoung fellow; who, when he reaches his age, bids fair to be well-nighas strong a man as that monk."
Roger had just entered, with the priest.
"Well, monk," Baird said, "we are going to try the mettle of yourcompanion of yesterday."
"I answer not for his mettle," Roger said; "but if he fights as well ashe talks, he will not do discredit to himself."
As they took their places, facing each other, the lookers on, men wellqualified to judge of strength and sinew, murmured to each other thatit would be difficult to find a better-matched pair. They were aboutthe same height, both stood lightly on their feet, and their figuresseemed full of life and activity. Both were smiling, Robert Baird witha smile of confidence, and of assurance in his skill; while Oswald'sface expressed only good temper and, as the others took it, a beliefthat he would, at any rate, be able to make such a defence as wouldassure his being taken into the Bairds' service.
The first rally, indeed, proved more than this. Robert Baird had atonce taken the offensive, and showered his blows heavily down, whilespringing backwards and forwards with wonderful quickness and activity;but Oswald's blade ever met his, and he did not give way an inch, evenwhen Baird most fiercely attacked him. Then suddenly he adopted thesame tactics as his opponent, and pressed him so hotly that he was,several times, obliged to give ground. Oswald could twice have got in aheavy blow, but he abstained from doing so. He could see that hisantagonist was a favourite among his kinsmen, and felt that, were he todiscomfit him, he would excite a feeling of hostility against himself.Both, panting from their exertions, drew a step backwards and loweredtheir swords.
"Enough!" William Baird said, "The matter need be pushed no further.'Tis long since I have seen so good a bout of swordplay. This youngfellow has learned his business, and if, in other respects, he does aswell, he will make a good recruit, indeed.
"What say you, lad? Will you join us for a month, till you see whetheryou like our service, and we can judge how your service will suit us?For that time you will have your living here, and drink money. Afterthat, if we agree, you can either be a retainer here, or we will giveyou a holding on the moor, build you a shelter, give you a horse, and,after our next foray, a clump of cattle."
"That will suit me well," Oswald said; "and I like well the month oftrial you propose."
"I will take him, if you will let me, Uncle, as my own man," RobertBaird said. "If, at the end of the month, he chooses service with us,and likes better to follow a master, with half a dozen men, than tolive alone on the moors. Methinks he would make a cheery companion, andone I could take to, heartily; and indeed, during the long winters,'tis no slight thing to have one merry fellow, who can keep one alive,and of whose mettle and skill you are well assured."
"So let it be, then, Robert. You have tried him, and yours should bethe advantage. But for the month he shall remain here, under Malcolm'seye."
Oswald went down with the man, who was Baird's right hand in the hold.
"What will be my duties?" he asked.
"To keep your arms and armour ready for service."
"That will be an easy task, methinks; for I see that instead of beingpolished and bright, as were ours at Dunbar, the others keep theirsteel caps and back pieces painted a sombre colour."
The other nodded.
"Yes, our arms are for use and not for show; and when we ride bymoonlight, we care not to have our presence shown, miles away, by theglint of the moon on our armour.
"You will do your turn of keeping watch and ward. Just at present therewill be a good deal of that, for we have been stirring up a wasps'nest, and mayhap they may come and try to sting. When you are off duty,you will be your own master, save that you had best be within sound ofthe warder's horn.
"I will hand over a horse to you. For the present, it is at that crofton the opposite hill. Each of the tenants keeps two or three at ourservice. We have only the Bairds' own horses kept in the hold. It wouldbe too much trouble to gather forage for those of the twenty men whoalways live here, and indeed, we have no room for such number.
"Mind that you drink not too much, over in the village there; forthough the Bairds care not, on feast days, if the whole garrison getsdrunk, so that there are enough sober to keep watch and ward, they settheir faces against it at other times, seeing that it leads to broilsand quarrels."
"I will take care. I like my cup, occasionally; and can drink withothers, without my head getting addled, but as a rule I care notovermuch for it."
After being roughly introduced to several of the retainers as a newcomrade, Oswald was left to follow his own devices. Presently, Rogercame out into the courtyard.
"So you have got service, comrade," he said, in a voice that could beheard by any of those standing near. "You had better fortune than I hadexpected."
"That have I," he replied. "Still, I thought that it would be hard, ifone who could use his sword indifferently well, and puts no great valueon his life, could not find service on the border. How long do you stayhere?"
This was a question that had been arranged, for had they been seenspeaking privately together, it might have aroused suspicion.
"Methinks I shall stay here two days, to get rid of my leg weariness. Iam not so accustomed to long marching as you are."
The real meaning of the question, as arranged, was, "Have you found outwhere the prisoners ar
e kept?"
The answer meant "Yes, and it will not be difficult to get at them."
The evening before, indeed, when he returned with the priest to hischamber, they had broached a bottle together. The priest, on his part,had asked many questions as to the state of things in Edinburgh, andDunbar; what were the opinions of people with regard to the Duke ofAlbany, and the Prince; and what would probably come of the coldnessthat was said to exist between them.
Roger was able to conceal his ignorance of these matters by saying thathe knew little of what was passing, for that he had been the cellarerin the convent, and went out but little. Nevertheless, he had kept hisears open; as they rode north to Jedburgh, he had heard a good deal oftalk and speculation, and was able to give various pieces of news thathad not before reached the ears of the priest. He was not long indiscovering that the latter was ill satisfied with his presentposition, and was ambitious to take part in more important affairs, andhe presently said:
"I wonder, father, that a man of your ability should be content toremain as chaplain in a border hold, when there are so manyopportunities beyond, for one like you, to make his way in the church."
"In truth," the priest said, "I have had such thoughts myself; andhope, some day, to see a little more of the world.
"By the way, can you read and write, brother?" he asked suddenly.
"Assuredly," Roger replied.
He guessed, at once, that the question had been put at the instigationof William Baird; who perhaps still had some doubts whether he wasreally a monk, and an affirmative answer would be an almost conclusiveproof that he was so, for very few outside the walls of the convents,even among the nobles and knights, possessed any knowledge of letters.
"I have a missal here," the priest said carelessly, "that has somewhattroubled me, being written in a cramped hand. Perhaps you could read itfor me," and, getting up, he took a roll from a closet.
Roger smiled quietly, as he turned it over. By a private mark upon it,he knew that it had been written at Alnwick, and was doubtless theproceed of some foray upon a monastery across the border. He ran hiseye over it; and then, in a sonorous voice, proceeded to read it aloud.
"I thank you," the priest said, when he had finished. "Truly you are anadmirable reader, and well skilled in deciphering. I wonder that youheld not some more important post than that of cellarer."
Roger laughed.
"I might have done so," he said, "but in truth, I am not strict enoughin matters of discipline to suit our prior, and am somewhat over fondof the wine cup. More than once, when it seemed that I might have beenchosen as reader to the monastery, I fell into disgrace, and lost mychance; and indeed, I was far better pleased with my post, there, thanif they had appointed me sub-prior."
Any vestige of doubt there might have been in the priest's mind hadvanished, as Roger read; for he was conscious that he, himself, couldnot have picked up a manuscript and have deciphered it so easily andfluently.
"It must be trying to you, good father," Roger went on, "to be amongmen who, if reports speak truly, are somewhat lawless, and hold eventhe church in but slight respect. Surely, among them there can be butlittle scope for your abilities?"
"'Tis true, brother; but they are, you know, kinsmen of mine. They havemany foes across the border, and some on this side, and are forced tohold their own as they may. It was but two days ago that they wereobliged to punish a family that have long been at feud with them, andwho might well have fallen upon their holds, if they marched intoEngland with Douglas. However, they have brought off two hostages forthe good behaviour of these people."
"Yes, I heard a chance word, in the village, that a party had justreturned from a foray, and had brought back a number of prisoners."
"Not a number, brother, but two girls."
"I have seen no women in the castle," Roger said.
"No. William Baird lost his wife years ago, and cares not to have womenin the hold. There is not a married man among the garrison. If a mantakes him a wife, he must go and settle on the lands.
"The women are in a safe place of keeping. They are overhead. There arewild young fellows among the Bairds, and the girls are good looking;therefore he thought it best to place them in my charge, and that iswhy you see two sentries marching on the battlements, one on each sideof this turret. He himself keeps the key of their chamber, handing itover to me every morning, and receiving it again at night--a precautionwholly unnecessary, methinks."
"Surely, surely," Roger said. "I wonder that you are not offended."
"I told him that it was strange he could not trust me, a priest, withthe charge of them; but he laughed and said, 'As a priest you are wellenough, Father Kenelm, but remember also that you are a Baird. Though apriest, I would trust you to ride with me on a foray across the border;but as a Baird, I would not entrust you with the custody of women. Youmay take it as a compliment that I have trusted you as far as I do.'"
Roger's answer to Oswald had been eminently satisfactory to the latter.Still more pleased was he when, later on in the day, Roger repeated, ashe passed him, "They are lodged in the turret, over my chamber."
Oswald was scarcely surprised, for he had noticed that two sentrieswere on the wall on that side, although it was the one farthest removedfrom the direction in which any foes were likely to appear. He had,moreover, just before dinner, observed one of the kitchen men go up,with two dishes in his hand, by the steps leading to the top of thewall, on that side. There was no hindrance to the men going freely inand out of the hold, and as no duty had been assigned to him thatevening, he strolled out of the gate when it became dusk, soon aftersix o'clock, for it was now the beginning of April, 1401, and walkeddown through the village; and then, taking off his armour and steelcap, and laying them down under a bush by the roadside, set off at thetop of his speed in the direction of Parton. He did the ten miles inunder an hour, and nearly ran against a man who was standing in themiddle of the road, a short distance from the little town.
"Is that you, Fergus?"
"No, I am John, master. Fergus will take the watch tomorrow evening."
"Good. Keep the horses saddled at this time, every evening; and holdthem in readiness all night. Things are going on well, and I may behere any night. Which is the house?"
"That is it, master, where you see the light, a quarter of a milefarther up the hill."
"Where are you sleeping?"
"In the stables, with the horses. It is some ten yards off the right ofthe house."
"Then you must keep watch through the night, by turns, and get yoursleep in the daytime. I hope we shall get them away without waiting fora force to come. The hold is a very strong one, and a strict watch iskept at night; and, before we could carry it, we should have all theBairds on the countryside down upon us.
"Can you get me a rope? I want a long and a strong one."
"There are some ropes in the stable, master, but they are in use, andwould be missed."
"Then run, at the top of your speed, down to the town; and buy a ropestrong enough to hold the weight of half a dozen men. I shall want ahundred feet of it. Here is money."
The man shot away into the darkness and, in a little over a quarter ofan hour, was back again with the rope. Oswald took off his doublet.
"Wind it round and round me," he said. "Begin under the arms. Wind itneatly, and closely, so that it will make no more show than necessary."
This was soon done, and then Oswald started on his way; and an hourlater entered the tavern, and took his seat with three or four of themen from the hold, and called for wine for the party. He sat there forsome time, and then one said:
"It is half-past eight; we had best be going. At seven o'clock thegates are shut; but they are opened, for those who belong to the hold,till nine, after which none are admitted till morning, and any who comein then are reported to Baird, and they are lucky if they get off withhalf a dozen extra goes of sentry duty. Baird is a good master in manythings, but he is a bad man to deal with, when he is angry
; and ifanyone was to be out a second time, and he did it too soon after thefirst offence, he would have his skin nearly flayed off his back, witha stirrup leather. There is no fooling with the Bairds."
Oswald arranged with Roger that, if the latter remained in the castle,he should always come down half an hour before the garrison weremoving, as they might then exchange a word or two unseen; andaccordingly, he took his place at an angle of a building, where hecould keep his eye on the steps leading up to the battlements, on thenorth side.
Presently he saw Roger descending. He waved his hand, and caught hisfollower's eye; and the latter, on reaching the courtyard, at oncejoined him.
"I have a rope, Roger," Oswald began, "that will reach from the turretto the foot of the craig. I took it off during the night, and have justhidden it away behind a pile of rubbish, in the stable. Are the girlslocked up?"
"Yes."
"Is there any getting the key?"
"No, William Baird himself keeps it."
"Then we must have something to force the door open, or to saw roundthe lock."
"The door is studded with iron."
"Are the windows barred?"
"No; but they are mere loopholes, and there is no getting throughthem."
"I suppose there are steps from their room on to the platform above?"
"No doubt. In fact, there are sure to be."
"I suppose that you will have no difficulty in silencing the priest?"
Roger smiled.
"No; I think I can answer for him."
"Could you speak to the girls through the keyhole, Roger?"
"There would be no difficulty about that, master. I have but to choosea time when the priest is out."
"Then tell them that we are here, Roger, and they are to be ready toescape, whenever we give the signal. Ask them if the trapdoor leadingon to the platform is fastened, and whether they can unfasten it. Ifnot, we must break it in, from above. We can get on to the top of theturret, easily enough, by throwing the rope up with a hook attached.
"Of course, the two sentries must be first silenced. I would wait tillI, myself, should be on sentry there; but that might not occur for aweek, and you cannot prolong your stay here more than another day;therefore, we will try it tonight. I have given the men with the horsesnotice.
"Do you get the priest bound and gagged, by ten o'clock; everythingwill be quiet by that time. I will come noiselessly up the steps. Atthat hour, do you be at the door, and on the lookout for me. Thesentries will have to be silenced--that is the most difficult part ofthe business."
"We can manage that," Roger said, confidently. "One blow with myquarterstaff, on the back of the head under the steel cap, will do thatnoiselessly enough."
"That would not do, Roger. The man would go down with such a crash,that the fall of his armour on the flags would be heard all over thecastle. He must be gripped by the throat, so that he cannot holloa; andthen bound tightly, and gagged before he has time to get breath."
"I suppose that would be the best way," Roger said regretfully; "but Ishould like to have struck two good blows; one for the sake of DameArmstrong, and one for Allan. However, your plan is the best. The onlydifficulty will be the trapdoor."
"Well, we must look about today, and get a couple of bits of iron thatwe can use as a prise. Still, I hope that it will not be needed. I sawa bit of iron, in the stables, that I think I can bend into a hook forthe rope; and if I can't, I have no doubt that you can.
"That is all. You had better move away now. People will be stirring,directly."
That night, at ten o'clock, when all in the hold had been asleep halfan hour, Oswald rose quietly from the rushes, on which he and a dozenof his comrades were sleeping, and made his way noiselessly out of theroom; went into the stables and fetched the piece of iron, which hehad, during the day, placed so that he could feel it in the dark; tookthe coil of rope in his hands, and ascended the steps. The top was butsome ten feet from the turret. He stood quiet, until he heard thesentry moving away from him, then he mounted the last steps, and in amoment reached the foot of the turret stairs. Roger was standing there.
"All right, master!" he whispered. "I took the priest by surprise, andhe was gagged before he knew what was happening. I tore the blanket upinto strips, and tied him down onto his pallet with them. He is safeenough.
"Now for the sentries. I will take the one to the right, first. I willgo out and stand in the angle. It is a dark night, and there is nochance of his seeing me. When you hear his walk cease, you will knowthat I have got him. I have managed to bring up a rope, that I have cutinto handy lengths. Here are two of them.
"There, he has just turned, so I will go at once."
"How about the trapdoor?"
"It is all right, master. It is bolted on the inside. They have triedthe bolts, and find they can move them;" and with these words, he atonce stepped noiselessly out.
Oswald stood listening. Presently he heard the returning steps of thesentry. They came close up to the turret, and then suddenly ceased.
He at once hurried round. The sentry hung limp in Roger's grasp. Oswaldbound his hands tightly, and twisted the rope three or four times roundhis body, and securely knotted it. Then he tied the ankles tightlytogether.
"I will lay him down," Roger whispered, when he had done so.
Oswald bent the man's legs and, trussing him up, fastened the rope fromthe ankles to that which bound the wrists. Roger now relaxed his gripof the man's throat, thrust a piece of wood between his teeth, andfastened it, by a string going round the back of the head. He then tookoff his steel cap, and laid it some distance away.
"That will do for him, master. I reckon that he will be an hour or two,before he will get breath enough to holloa, even without that gag."
The other man was captured as silently as the former had been. When hewas bound, Roger said:
"Now for the hook, master."
"Here is the iron. It was too strong for me to bend."
Roger took it and, exerting his great strength, bent it across hisknee. Then he took the coil of rope, and tied a knot at the end, andwith some smaller cord lashed it securely along the whole length of thehook.
"Now, Master, do you get on to my shoulders, and I think you will beable to hook it to the battlements. It is not above twelve feet. If youfind that you cannot, step on my head."
"I am sure I can reach it without that, Roger."
And indeed, he found that he could do so easily; and having fixed itfirmly, he got hold of the rope, and hoisted himself to the top of theturret. In a minute, Roger was beside him.
Feeling about, they soon discovered the trapdoor, on which Rogerknocked three times. Then they heard a grating sound below and,shortly, one end of the heavy trapdoor was slightly raised. The two mengot their fingers under it, and pulled it up, and Janet and Jessie ranout, both crying with joy and excitement.
"Hush!" Oswald whispered. "Do not utter a sound. There are sentries onother parts of the walls, and the slightest noise might be heard.
"Now, we will knot this rope."
He and Roger set to work, and before long knots were tied, a footapart, along the whole length of the rope.
"I will take you down first, Jessie, for you are the lightest," Oswaldsaid.
"Now, Roger, tie us together."
One of the pieces of rope Roger had brought was passed round and roundthem, tying them firmly, face to face.
"Now, Jessie, you had best take hold of the rope, too, and take as muchof your weight off me as you can. It is a long way down; and, though Ithink that I could carry your weight that distance, it is best that youshould help me as much as you are able."
The rope was shifted to the outside of the turret. Roger, after fixingit firmly, helped them over the battlements, holding Oswald by thecollar, until he had a firm grasp of the rope in his hands, andobtained a hold with his feet.
"That is right, Jessie," he whispered, as the girl also took a firmhold of the rope. "You are no weight, like that. N
ow, let the rope passgradually through your hands and, when I tell you, hold tight by one ofthe knots."
After lowering himself forty feet, Oswald found that he was standing ona ledge of rock, three inches wide, at the foot of the wall.
"Now, dear, it will be more difficult," he said. "You must use one ofyour hands, to push yourself off from any rugged points. There are notmany of them. I had a look at the rock today, and its face is almostsmooth. I will do the best I can to keep you from it."
In another three minutes, they stood at the foot of the craig. Oswaldshook the rope violently, to let those above know that they were down.Then he untied the cord that bound him to his cousin, who at once satdown, sobbing hysterically. Oswald put his hand upon her shoulder.
"Steady, Jessie, steady. You have been brave and quiet, coming down.The danger is over now, but we have a long walk and a longer ridebefore us, and you will need all your strength."
In a very short time, Roger and Janet joined them. As soon as she wasuntied, Janet threw her arms round Oswald's neck, and spoke for thefirst time.
"Oh, Oswald, from what have you saved us! How brave and good of you torisk so much!"
"Tut, tut, Janet, as if we should leave you here, in the hands of theBairds, without making an effort to free you! Now, come along, dear. Bevery careful how you walk, till we get down to the bottom. It is prettysteep and, if you were to set a stone rolling, we might have them afterus, in no time. As it is, we shall only have an hour and a half start,for the sentries will be relieved at midnight. However, by that time weshall be on horseback, and of course they won't know which road we havetaken."
As soon as they came to level ground, they set off at a run. They werebut a mile from the village when they heard, on the still night air,distant shouts, followed half a minute later by the winding of a horn;then, almost immediately, a glimmering light appeared on the highestturret of the hold, and this rapidly broadened out into a sheet offlame.
"They have discovered our escape, by some misfortune or other," Oswaldexclaimed, "and they will be after us, before many minutes have passed.You must run in earnest now, girls."
"Do you run on, Oswald," Janet said, "you and Roger. We will turn andwalk back. They will do us no harm."
Oswald thought of the murder of the girls' mother, and knew that, intheir fury at having been tricked, the Bairds were capable of anything.
"It is not to be thought of," he said. "Such a watch would henceforthbe kept that there would be no possibility, whatever, of effecting yourrescue. We must take our chance together.
"What think you had best be done, Roger?"
"In sooth, I know not. I am ready to do whatever you think best."
"We cannot hope to reach Parton, before they overtake us," Oswald said."Besides, the Bairds are sure to have many friends there, and thelighted beacon will warn all the countryside that something unusual hashappened. No, we cannot think of going there."
"But you said that there were horses," Janet said.
"They are but a short distance on this side of the town. We could nothope to get there before the Bairds; and, even if we did, it would be aquarter of an hour before we could mount and be off."
"Could we not hide and get the horses after they have passed, master?"Roger suggested.
"It would be useless, Roger. The road leads up and down this valley,and there would be no possibility of riding the horses across thehills, at night; so that we should have either to ride down throughParton, or up past the Bairds' hold. No, the horses must be given up,for the present. The only thing that I can see is to cross the Esk, andto take refuge in the hills. I know not if there are any fords, orwhere they are; but, were we to turn to the right, we should be gettingfarther and farther away. The Esk is no great width, and we can carrythem across it, easily enough."
"The water will be dreadfully cold," Jessie said, with a shiver, for itwas now the beginning of April.
"Hush, Jessie!" her sister said. "What matters a little cold, when ourlives are at stake?"
"No, that is our only hope," Oswald said. "Quick, girls, there is notime to lose."
The river was but some fifty yards from the road, and they ran down toit.
"Now, girls," Oswald said when they reached it, "you must take off yourcloaks, and all upper garments. Were you to get these wet you would,before morning, die of cold. Don't lose a moment. Undress under theshelter of these bushes.
"Now, Roger, let us move a few yards away, and then take off ourdoublets and shirts, and swim across, holding them above the water. Bythe time that we are back, the girls will be ready."
"I will carry them across, master. It is of no use two of us going,with so light a burden. I shall make nothing of it."
Oswald made no opposition and, a minute later, the shirts and doubletswere made into a bundle, and bound on Roger's head. He waded into thewater until it reached his chin, and then swam out. The distance to betraversed was but some fifteen yards, and a few strokes of his brawnyarms brought him to the opposite bank. Having laid down his bundlethere, he swam quickly back again.
"Are you ready, girls?" Oswald asked.
"Yes," Janet replied, and two white figures came out from the bushes,each carrying a bundle.
"Do you go into the bushes again, for a minute. We cannot take you andthe bundles over together; and it is better that you should stand here,in dry things, than wait in wet ones, over there."
A minute sufficed to tie the bundles on the heads of the two men. Theysoon swam across to the other side, left them there, and returned.
"The water is bitterly cold for the girls," Oswald said, as they swamacross together.
"It is, master, but they will only be in it for a minute, and they willsoon be warm again."
"Now, girls."
"We have just heard the sound of horses in the distance, Oswald," Janetsaid.
He listened.
"Sound travels far, this still night," he said; "they can only justhave started. We shall be across long before they come along.
"Now, Jessie, we will take you first. The stream runs strongly, and itwere best that you went over separately. All you have to do is to put ahand on a shoulder of each of us. Come along."
"I will carry her till we get into deep water," Roger said, catchingthe girl up in his arms, and running into the stream.
Jessie gasped, as the water reached her.
"It will be over in a minute," Oswald said encouragingly. "Now, we aregoing to swim. Put your hands upon our shoulders. That is right."
Striking out strongly, they easily carried her until she was in herdepth.
"Now, dear, get ashore, and stand behind those bushes, and take offyour wet things and put on your dry ones. We will have Janet across, inno time."
The girl was carried across as easily as her sister had been.
"Here is your bundle, dear. Jessie has taken hers. Dress as quickly asyou can. Stoop down, as soon as you reach the bushes. They will behere, directly."
Janet ran to the thicket, and Oswald and Roger threw themselves downbehind a great stone. Two minutes later, they could hear the thunder ofhoofs go along the road opposite, but could not make out the figures.
"How many are there of them, do you think, Roger?"
"A dozen or so, master."
"Yes, I should think you are right. However, it makes no difference;were there ten times as many, they would not catch us, tonight."