"Then go! Your road leads by the river—keep that napkin about his arm wet with water, and he will do very well."
She motioned him away with wild energy. He saw the insane dread in her eyes, left the room without a word, and joined the party upon the veranda.
"Do we stay?" demanded the guides.
The gentleman shook his head, and, without waiting to hear their angry expostulations, moved toward his friend.
Laurence was sitting up, and, although still very pale, looked stronger and greatly recovered.
"Could you ride a few miles further, Ned?" he asked.
"Possibly; but can't we stay here?"
"No—no; there's a deuced mystery about the whole matter! But we must start, or I believe that woman will go crazy; don't let's wait a moment, if you can manage to get on to your mule."
The lady's strange anxiety had infected him; he felt an unaccountable eagerness to leave that quiet old house far behind, and would rather have spent the whole night in the woods than again encounter the frenzied pleading of her eyes.