'The woman, whoever she was, feeling our grasp on her arms loosen, made a violent effort, and slipping from our hands, darted up the alley, and disappeared from sight.
'"Idiots that you were, to let her go!" cried Hal furiously. "We must after her, and bribe her to hold her tongue, or she will raise a hue and cry, and we shall have a dozen people at our heels before we can reach the Palace."
'Off we started in hot pursuit, guided by the faint sound of footsteps flying in the direction of the chapel, which was the nearest place of refuge. But, alas! as ill luck would have it, Phil Buckthorne, whose legs were as quick as his brain was slow, was foremost in the race. He overtook the flying figure on the threshold of the chapel, and disregarding Hal's warning cry, which was raised as high as he dared, rushed in after her. The rest of us, when we reached the door, hesitated a moment what to do next. If we had taken to our heels then, we might have escaped scathless; but we could not leave Philip in the lurch, and so, after a pause of a few seconds, we followed his example, and went in. The chapel was lighted up in preparation for vespers; and the first person who met our astonished and horrified gaze was Lady Sarah Buckthorne! who sat sobbing on a chair by the altar, supported by Father Niccolo. In front of her stood Philip, looking utterly abashed and confounded, while he repeated slowly:
'"I tell you, sister, we meant no harm. There is no need to be frightened. 'Twas all a mistake."
'"No need to be frightened!" cried Lady Sarah angrily. "I ask you, father, if it was not enough to frighten me when a whole gang of young ruffians set on me at once, dragged me into a dark entry, and bound my hands behind me?"
'"There were but four of us," said Phil, looking very sheepish.
'He certainly had a talent for making matters worse, for he went on:
'"I shouldn't have touched you if I had known who it was; but we took you for Father Niccolo, you see."
'Lady Sarah laughed hysterically.
'Father Niccolo exclaimed, "Holy mother! what iniquity is this?" And Hal, seeing that all was lost, pushed past Philip, after privately shaking his fist at him, and stopped any further revelations by beginning a series of the most profuse apologies to the injured Lady Sarah. But Hal had been so taken aback on discovering who our prisoner really was that his words did not come quite so readily as usual. She would not listen. She had been very much frightened, and now she was very angry. Moreover, she was by no means so thick-witted as her brother, and was evidently beginning to suspect that our unlucky plot was something more than a mere frolic.