"Do you regret being here?" she asked, with a soft smile.
"I did not say that," the young man continued; "but we are not in our place among these villains. We are free and loyal hunters, honourable wood rangers; the life we lead oppresses us."
"Were you not talking of that when my presence interrupted you?"
They remained silent.
"Answer boldly!" she went on.
"Good heavens! You know that such a life is as oppressive to me as it is to you."
"What do I know?" Harry said. "Many times I have proposed to you to fly, and leave these men whose hands are constantly polluted with blood, but you have ever refused."
"That is true," she said sadly; "alas! Although these men are criminal, one of them is my father."
"For two years that we have been following you everywhere, you have given us the same answer."
"It was because I hoped that my father and brother would abandon this career of crime."