ng of what short cuts any one might make who did not
mind forcing his way through or leaping hedges, he once more glanced
back at the gipsy lads, and found that he was only being followed by
one.

"The other has given it up as a bad job," he said to himself, and then,
"How much farther is it? and what a wild-goose chase I am coming. They
may have gone in quite another direction, for Joseph couldn't be sure."

Just then, though, an idea occurred to him--That he would easily find
out where they were when they fired.

"I wonder whose gun they have borrowed?" For, knowing that they owned
none, he began to run over in his mind who would be the most ready to
lend a gun in the expectation of getting half a crown for its use.

"Gurner's got one, because he goes after the wild geese in the winter,"
thought Vane; "and Bruff has that big flint-lock with the pan lined with
silver. He'd lend it to anybody for a shilling and be glad of it.--
Well, look at that! Why he must have made a regular short cut so as to
get there. Why did he do that?"

This thought was evoked by Vane suddenly catching sight of the second
gipsy lad turned into the first. In other words, the one whom he
supposed to have gone back, had gone on, and Vane found himself in that
narrow lane with high banks and hedges on either side and with one of
these great lawless lads in front, and the other behind.

For the first time it now occurred to Vane that the place was very
lonely, and that the nearest farm was quite a mile away, right beyond
Sowner wood, whose trees now came in view, running up the slope of a
great chalk down.

"Whatever do they mean?" thought Vane, for the gipsy lad in front had
suddenly stopped, turned round, and was coming toward him.

"Why, he has a stick," said Vane to himself, and looking sharply round
he saw that the other one also carried a stick.

For a moment a feeling of dread ran through him, but it passed off on
the instant, and he laughed at himself for a coward.

"Pooh!" he said, "they want to beat for rabbits and that's why they have
got their sticks."

In spite of himself Vane Lee wondered why the lads had not been seen to
carry sticks before; then, laughing to himself as he credited them with
having had them tucked up somewhere under their clothes, he walked on
boldly.

"What nonsense!" he thought; "is it likely that those two fellows would
be going to attack me!"

But all the same their movements were very sugge