Part 21 (1/2)
”Now, Greensheve,” whispered dick, ”follow me up here; lie flat upon your face, that ye ive me a hand if I fall foully on the other side”
And so saying he dropped into the garden
It was all pitch dark; there was no light in the house The histled shrill a the poor shrubs, and the surf beat upon the beach; there was no other sound Cautiously dick footed it forth, stu with his hands; and presently the crisp noise of gravel underfoot told him that he had struck upon an alley
Here he paused, and taking his crossbow fro tabard, he prepared it for instant action, and went forward once reater resolution and assurance The path led his
All seemed to be sorely dilapidated: the s of the house were secured by crazy shutters; the stables were open and empty; there was no hay in the hay-loft, no corn in the corn-box Any one would have supposed the place to be deserted But dick had good reason to think otherwise He continued his inspection, visiting the offices, trying all the s At length he cah, there burned a pale light in one of the upper s
He stepped back a little way, till he thought he could see the movement of a shadow on the wall of the apart hand had rested for ait The ladder was very short, but yet, by standing on the toph as the iron bars of the ; and seizing these, he raised his body by main force until his eyes commanded the interior of the room
Two persons ithin; the first he readily knew to be Da lady, in a long, embroidered dress--could that be Joanna Sedley? his old wood-coht to punish with a belt?
He dropped back again to the top round of the ladder in a kind of aht of his sweetheart as of so superior a being, and he was instantly taken with a feeling of diffidence But he had little opportunity for thought A low ”Hist!” sounded from close by, and he hastened to descend the ladder
”Who goes?” he whispered
”Greensheve,” cauarded
”What want ye?” asked dick
”The house is watched, Master Shelton,” returned the outlaw ”We are not alone to watch it; for even as I lay onin the dark, and heard them whistle softly one to the other”
”By e! Were they not men of Sir Daniel's?”
”Nay, sir, that they were not,” returned Greensheve; ”for if I have eyes in e in his bonnet, so chequered with dark”
”White, chequered with dark,” repeated dick ”Faith, 'tis a badge I know not It is none of this country's badges Well, an that be so, let us slip as quietly forth froarden as we may; for here we are in an evil posture for defence Beyond all question there are men of Sir Daniel's in that house, and to be taken between two shots is a beggarman's position Take me this ladder; I must leave it where I found it”
They returned the ladder to the stable, and groped their way to the place where they had entered
Capper had taken Greensheve's position on the cope, and now he leaned down his hand, and, first one and then the other, pulled theain upon the other side; nor did they dare to speak until they had returned to their old aorse
”Now, John Capper,” said dick, ”back with you to Shoreby, even as for your life Bring me instantly what men ye can collect Here shall be the rendezvous; or if the men be scattered and the day be near at hand before theyfarther back, and by the entering in of the town Greensheve and I lie here to watch Speed ye, John Capper, and the saints aid you to despatch And now, Greensheve,”
he continued, as soon as Capper had departed, ”let thou and I go round about the garden in a wide circuit I would fain see whether thine eyes betrayed thee”
Keeping well outwards froht and hollow, they passed about two sides, beholding nothing On the third side the garden as built close upon the beach, and to preserve the distance necessary to their purpose, they had to go soh the tide was still pretty far out, the surf was so high, and the sands so flat, that at each breaker a great sheet of froth and water ca over the expanse, and dick and Greensheve , now to the ankles, and now as deep as to the knees, in the salt and icy waters of the Gerainst the coure of a nalling with both arain to the earth, another arose a little farther on and repeated the saesticulations ood watch,” dick whispered
”Let us back to land, good master,” answered Greensheve ”We stand here too open; for, look ye, when the seas break heavy and white out there behind us, they shall see us plainly against the foam”