Thence we could examine this
fortress, see whether we could effect a lodgment in it, and,
above all, try to establish some communication with the beautiful
prisoner inside.
There we were, then, in the shrubbery, Lord Rufton and I, each
with a pistol in the pockets of our riding coats, and with the
most resolute determination in our hearts that we should not
return without the lady.
Eagerly we scanned every window of the wide-spread house.
Not a sign could we see of the prisoner or of anyone else; but on
the gravel drive outside the door were the deep- sunk marks of
the wheels of the chaise. There was no doubt that they had
arrived. Crouching among the laurel bushes we held a whispered
council of wary but a singular interruption brought it to an end.
Out of the door of the house there stepped a tall, flaxen- haired
man, such a figure as one would choose for the flank of a
Grenadier company. As he turned his brown face and his blue eyes
toward us I recognised Lord Dacre.
With long strides he came down the gravel path straight for the
spot where we lay.
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