Part 57 (2/2)

We half expected another volley But nothing caone round the side of the house

'Get to a corner, dick; they're always the safest places We must mind it isn't an a to suicide, like the people in the round tower of Jhansi?'

'There are no woht do if his wife had been here'

'Thank God, she's away at Bathurst,' said Starlight 'I hate seeing wohtley She's as good as she's handsoreat deal'

Just then Moran and Wall ed to find their way into the other side of the house, and they ca into the hall like a pair of colts

They looked rather queer when they saw us three and no one else

'What in thunder's up?' says Moran 'Are they all gone to bed, and left us the spare rooms? Poor Patsey won't want one, anyhow'

'Better o first?

Youpeople'

'Couldn't think of going before the Captain,' says Moran, with a grin

'I'll follohere you lead'

'All right!' says Starlight; 'here goes,' and he started to walk upstairs, when all of a sudden he stopped and looked up as if so had surprised him above a bit Then he stepped back and waited I noticed he took off his hat and leaned against the wall

It was an old-fashi+oned house for that part of the world, built a good o by a rich settler, as once the owner of all that side of the country The staircase was all stone, ornamented every way it could be Three or four people could walk abreast easy enough

Just about half-way up was a broad landing, and on this, all of a sudden, appeared four people, inclined by their ways to co, for a reason you'll see afterwards

It was Mr Knightley who took the lady's arm--it was his wife, and she had been there all the ti The others followed, and they all walked quite soleether

It was a strange sight There ere standing and leaning about the dark hall, staring and wondering, and these people walking down toelse

Mr Knightley was a tall, handsorand black beard that came down to his chest He walked like a lord, and had that kind of manner with him that comes to people that have always been used to be waited on and have everything found for theiven in to be the handsoraceful, with a beautiful sentle and siot any one to say different for a hundred pounds There are soentlefolk, and, say what you like, it does s and keep away fro and bad than all the parsons' talk twice over Mrs Knightley was the only woman that ever put me in mind of Miss Falkland, and I can't say more than that

So, as I said before, it was quite a picture to see them walk slowly and proudly down and sweep into the hall as if they'd beeninto a ballroom We had both seen thereed they were the handso their own hall in a different way But you couldn't have told much of what they felt by their faces He was a proud ang of men that he hated and despised, that he'd boasted he could run down and capture in a month Now the tables were turned He and his beautiful ere in our power, and, to make matters worse, one of our band lay dead, beside the inner wall, killed by his hand

What was to be his dooht end?

I looked at our men As they stepped on to the floor of the hall and looked round Mrs Knightley sel from heaven that had come by chance into the other place and hadn't found out her ht start as he looked at her He was still leaning against the wall, and there was a soft, sorrowful look in his eyes, like I re to Aileen about his early days, a thing he never did but once Part of her hair had straggled down, and hung in a sort of ringlet by her face It was pale, but clear and bright-looking, and there was a thin streak of blood across her forehead that showed as she ca above

I looked over at Moran He and Wall sat in a corner, looking as grie as possible, while his deadly black eyes had a kind of glooe