“The sentiments of the entire garrison,” responded the lieutenant.
“I am pleased to learn that such chivalrous feelings pervade the breasts of the men under my command,” said the colonel; “however, lieutenant, as the time passes rapidly by, and several minutes have already elapsed since the departure of Miss Lear, it would be well to make preparations as speedily as possible.”
The lieutenant making a low bow, retired to perform the wishes of his commander. In a moment afterward, the troopers, armed to the teeth, and mounted on their caparisoned chargers, looking like so many grim specters, dashed through the open gate and were soon lost to view. The gate creaked on its rusty hinges as it swung back into its customary place, and silence again reigned supreme.
CHAPTER V.
THE RED WITNESS.
Imogene, after her departure from the fort, sped rapidly onward, heedless of the extended branches and immense brambles that threatened every moment to drag her from her saddle. Collecting her confused thoughts, which were exceedingly harassed by her multiplied troubles, she checked the impetuosity of her steed, and compelling him to assume a more moderate gait, fell into a revery.
“Can it be possible,” she murmured, “that Colonel Hall could have had any intimation of impending danger? he seemed to persist so strongly that I should remain in the fort till daylight!” Immediately recovering herself, she exclaimed:
“A truce to such thoughts! It is only the wandering of my disordered imagination, that turns every harmless tree into a robber, and every neighboring bush into the lurking-place of some concealed assassin. However, I must confess that when I first entered the forest, an indescribable feeling of dread seemed to chill my very blood; but I must scout such ideas, which if I do not, they will entirely unnerve me, and render me unfit to enter the presence of my father, who must not receive from me even the slightest suspicion of Edgar’s misfortune.”
In vain did she endeavor to shake off the gloomy feeling that possessed her. The moon, which had been concealed during the earlier part of the evening behind the immense banks of clouds that had obscured the heavens, now became occasionally visible, and its fitful beams served only to render the intense darkness of the woods more apparent, and lend a more spectral appearance to surrounding objects.
Imogene, having relapsed into her former mood, rode slowly along the well-beaten path, unmindful of the cold, keen wind that swept through the surging forest, causing the stanch old oaks to gently bend their hoary tops to the blast.
The deep baying of her father’s hounds awakened her, at length, from her musings. Congratulating herself upon having reached the terminus of her journey in safety, she tried to smile at the absurd fears of her friends, when her steed, with a snort of terror, made a sudden pause, throwing himself back on his haunches, almost unseating his mistress.