To save time I did not far pursue the road, but, clearing a hedge, I
galloped ventre-?-terre across the meadow towards the little coppice by the
waterside. As I rode I saw no sign of any moving thing. No sound
disturbed the evening stillness save the dull thump of my horse's hoofs
upon the turf, and a great fear arose in my heart that I might come too
late.
At last I reached the belt of trees, and my fears grew into certainty. The
place was deserted.
Then a fresh hope sprang up. Perchance, thinking of my warning, she had
seen the emptiness of her suspicions towards me, and had pursued that walk
of hers in another direction.
But when I had penetrated to the little open space within that cluster of
naked trees, I had proof overwhelming that the worst had befallen. Not
only on the moist ground was stamped the impress of struggling feet, but on
a branch I found a strip of torn green velvet, and, remembering the dress
she had worn that day, I understood to the full the significance of that
rag, and, understanding it, I groaned aloud.
CHAPTER XII
THE RESCUE
Some precious moments did I waste standing with that green rag betwixt my
fingers, and I grew sick and numb in body and in mind.
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