dark. Don't distress the horses, and go right away, and make a round to
the west, so as not to go near Ergles. Not that the scoundrels would
dare to attack you."

Ten minutes after, brother and sister were riding slowly along the track
on the other side of the river, Mary enjoying the change after being
shut up for some weeks; and in consequence, the round was extended to a
greater distance than the pair had intended. It was getting toward
dark, and they were approaching one of the narrow ravines through which
the river ran, one which hardly gave room for the horse track as well,
when Mary said merrily:

"You must take the blame, Mark, for we shall not be home by dusk."

"Oh yes, we shall," he replied. "Once we are through these rocks, we'll
cut right across country, and--who are those people in front?"

"Carriers, with pack horses and donkeys," said his sister; "and they
have heavy loads too."

Mark looked long and hard at the party, which was partly hidden by the
trees, and then agreed with his sister.

"Yes," he said; "the horses are loaded with sacks of corn seemingly."

The people with their stores of provender were some distance ahead, and
Mark thought no more of them, for, soon after, his attention was taken
up by a group of men behind them a few hundred yards, walking, and
coming on hurriedly, as if to overtake them.

"Let's ride on faster, Mary," he said rather quickly.

"Why? What is the matter?"

"Nothing now; only I don't quite like the look of the men behind."

"Not robbers, are they?"

"Oh no, I think not; only we hear so much about Captain Purlrose's men,
it sets one thinking that every man one sees is a marauder. But it
would not matter if they were; we could soon leave them behind."

They rode on, entering the straits, as the place was called from the
river contracting, as it did in several other places, and running
between two upright walls of rock. The men were some distance behind,
and they had ceased to trouble about them, when, to Mark's
consternation, on passing round one of the curves in the track, he found
that there in front the narrowest part was blocked by the horses with
their loads; and a something in the aspect of the party of men in charge
of the laden beasts slightly startled him, for he thought them
suspiciously like some of Purlrose's followers.

The next minute he was awake to the fact that they were in danger, for
from behind a block of stone a slight figure, w