FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97  
98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   >>   >|  
he horses' hoofs upon the cobble-stones of the yard, informed me that all was ready for our departure. Chapter X. Of our Perilous Adventure on the Plain We were not half a mile from the town before the roll of kettledrums and the blare of bugles swelling up musically through the darkness announced the arrival of the regiment of horse which our friends at the inn had been expecting. 'It is as well, perhaps,' said Saxon, 'that we gave them the slip, for that young springald might have smelled a rat and played us some ill-turn. Have you chanced to see my silken kerchief?' 'Not I,' I answered. 'Nay, then, it must have fallen from my bosom during our ruffle. I can ill afford to leave it, for I travel light in such matters. Eight hundred men, quoth the major, and three thousand to follow. Should I meet this same Oglethorpe or Ogilvy when the little business is over, I shall read him a lesson on thinking less of chemistry and more of the need of preserving military precautions. It is well always to be courteous to strangers and to give them information, but it is well also that the information should be false.' 'As his may have been,' I suggested. 'Nay, nay, the words came too glibly from his tongue. So ho, Chloe, so ho! She is full of oats and would fain gallop, but it is so plaguy dark that we can scarce see where we are going.' We had been trotting down the broad high-road shimmering vaguely white in the gloom, with the shadowy trees dancing past us on either side, scarce outlined against the dark background of cloud. We were now coming upon the eastern edge of the great plain, which extends forty miles one way and twenty the other, over the greater part of Wiltshire and past the boundaries of Somersetshire. The main road to the West skirts this wilderness, but we had agreed to follow a less important track, which would lead us to our goal, though in a more tedious manner. Its insignificance would, we hoped, prevent it from being guarded by the King's horse. We had come to the point where this byroad branches off from the main highway when we heard the clatter of horses' hoofs behind us. 'Here comes some one who is not afraid to gallop,' I remarked. 'Halt here in the shadow!' cried Saxon, in a short, quick whisper. 'Have your blade loose in the scabbard. He must have a set errand who rides so fast o' nights.' Looking down the road we could make out through the darkness a shadowy blur which soo
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97  
98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

gallop

 

follow

 

horses

 
information
 
scarce
 

darkness

 
shadowy
 

extends

 

trotting

 

Wiltshire


boundaries
 

greater

 

twenty

 

dancing

 

plaguy

 
shimmering
 

vaguely

 

outlined

 

coming

 
eastern

background

 
whisper
 

shadow

 

afraid

 

remarked

 

scabbard

 

Looking

 
nights
 

errand

 

clatter


tedious

 

manner

 

important

 

skirts

 

wilderness

 

agreed

 

insignificance

 

byroad

 

branches

 

highway


prevent

 

guarded

 

Somersetshire

 

military

 

expecting

 

arrival

 
announced
 

regiment

 

friends

 

springald