When he
arrived at the thicket which surrounded the cottage, it occurred to
him that he would just go through it and see if it was in the state
which they had left it in; for after the intendant had been there, he
had given directions to his men to remain and bury the bodies, and
then to lock up the doors of the cottage, and bring the keys to him,
which had been done. Humphrey tied Billy and the cart to a tree, and
walked through the thicket. As he approached the cottage he heard
voices; this induced him to advance very carefully, for he had not
brought his gun with him. He crouched down as he came to the opening
before the cottage. The doors and windows were open, and there were
two men sitting outside, cleaning their guns; and in one of them
Humphrey recognized the man Corbould, who had been discharged by the
intendant as soon as his wound had been cured, and who was supposed to
have gone to London. Humphrey was too far off to hear what they said;
he remained there some time, and three more men came out of the
cottage. Satisfied with what he had seen, Humphrey cautiously
retreated, and, gaining the outside of the thicket, led away Billy and
the cart over the turf, that the noise of the wheels might not be
heard.
"This bodes no good," thought Humphrey as he went along, every now and
then looking back to ascertain if the men had come out and seen him.
Pages:
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337