Volume Three—Chapter Twenty.
A Race for Liberty.
It was a close race, and Mary Salis felt that, ere many minutes had passed, the strange force which had nerved her so that she had traversed the distance between the two houses, and then enabled her to go through the scene which followed, would fail; but still she struggled on, with their pursuers gaining so rapidly that the gate which gave upon the meadows had hardly been passed and dashed to, and the feeling that at last they were in comparative safety, given her fresh strength, when the two keepers came up, and without hesitation threw open the gate, and followed into the Rectory orchard.
Joe Chegg had lowered his burden on to the ground as the men reached the gate.
“What’ll I do, miss?”
“Stand by me,” panted Mary, stooping to catch Horace’s hand in hers; and then, sinking on one knee, she held to it tightly with both her own.
“Stand by you, miss?” cried Joe. “Yes; I’ll do that; but you run and call for help.”
“No, no,” cried Mary; “I will not go.”