The carriage was
tearing down the hill towards them in the moonlight, and Stafford saw
that the horses were rushing along with lowered heads and that the
driver had lost all control of them.
As they came towards the two men, Stafford set off running towards
them. Sir Stephen called him; Stafford took no heed, and as the horses
came up to him he sprang at the head of the nearer one. There was a
scramble, a scuffing of hoofs, and a loud, shrill shriek from the
interior of the carriage; then the horses were forced on to their
haunches, and Stafford scrambled to his feet from the road into which
he had been hustled.
The driver jumped down and ran to the horses' heads, the carriage door
was flung open and the gentleman of the inn leapt out. Leapt out almost
on to Sir Stephen, who ran up breathless with apprehension on
Stafford's account. The two men stood and looked at each other in the
moonlight, at first with a confused and bewildered gaze, then Sir
Stephen started back with a cry, a strange cry, which brought Stafford
to his side.
At the same moment, the girl he had seen in the sitting-room at the
inn, slipped out of the carriage.
Pages:
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172