The path with which this doorway communicated, led through the depth of a splendid wood of Spanish chestnuts, divided by somewhat formal alleys, which crossed each other in various directions. When Chandos and his companions had walked on not more than two hundred yards, they could hear the voices of two persons speaking vehemently, and at the first traversing alley which they came to, they all turned their heads to the right, whence the sounds proceeded. Perhaps eighty or ninety yards from them, under the green shade of the wide leafy trees, were standing a man and a woman. The man Chandos immediately recognized as his companion in the stage-coach some days before, and in the woman, whose face was turned towards them, he saw Sally Stanley. She was throwing about her arms in wild and even fierce gesticulation, and in the stillness of their footfalls over the turf, he could hear her exclaim, "If you do, a curse will cleave to you and destroy you, which never failed yet--a curse which will,"--but then her eyes lighted on the three persons who were passing, and she darted in amongst the trees.
The man followed her, after taking a look round; and Lockwood asked, "Do you know who those are?"
"Tim's mother," answered Chandos; "and one of her tribe, I suppose."
"One of the gipsies, if you mean that," replied Lockwood; "and the worst fellow amongst them. If I catch him, I will break every bone in his skin. He gave me a blow when I had my hands tied, and I will not forget him. But as to Sally Stanley being one of the gipsies, Chandos, that is a mistake."
"Then my suspicions are correct;" said Mr. Winslow, with an inquiring look at the other's face. "How was she saved from the river?"
"That I don't know," replied Lockwood; "the gipsies pulled her out, I suppose. But I thought you must have known all about it, from your fondness for the boy. If you come to calculate, you will see whose son he must be."
"How strange are the turns of fate!" said Chandos; and the whole party fell into deep thought.
Two or three minutes after, Lockwood halted, saying, "I will go out into the open part of the park, and wait for you under a tree; for I am anxious to have the first news:" and Chandos and the lawyer walked on to the house, which was not more than a quarter of a mile in advance. When they were gone, Lockwood sauntered up and down for about ten minutes--perhaps it might be a little more; for he was a man accustomed to solitude and his own thoughts; so that lonely time flew fast with him. At length, however, he thought he heard a light step running; and the next moment Sally Stanley was by his side. Her face was eager, and her eyes sparkling, but not with joy.
"Lockwood," she said, in a low tone, "Lockwood, run up to the village; to the inn."
"Has anything happened to the boy?" cried Lockwood, with a look of apprehension.