Just as I reached the meeting of two fork roads I heard the distant thud of a horse's hoofs, which came rapidly nearer and nearer.
Could my flight have been discovered already?
Plunging through a gap in the bushes I stood, my heart throbbing violently, expecting every moment to see my uncle's manservant on my track; but in a cloud of dust that rose slowly in the bright moonlight a horseman galloped madly past, his hair flying out behind him by reason of his speed through the still night air.
Hardly had he gone past when I again heard the thud of horses' hoofs, and riding apparently in close pursuit came four men, with set faces and loose rein. They, too, disappeared, but I could not summon up courage to resume my way until the last sounds of the pursuers had died away in the dim distance.
Then I came in sight of a town of considerable size, dominated by a lofty square tower. This I guessed rightly to be Christchurch.
On reaching a long stone bridge I halted at one of the recesses to rest awhile, making a meal of the food I had brought, for the walk had made me ravenous.
'Twas a glorious view. Standing out clearly in the moonlight was the long, regular outline of the priory church, the graceful tower of which I had seen a long way down the road. The moonbeams danced on the placid waters of an inland sea, while from farther still, beyond a lofty, flat-topped hill, came the sound of the swell of the English Channel roaring on the sandy shore.
Beneath the bridge flowed the river, swiftly and silently, though oft the stillness was broken by the splash of a lordly salmon. "The stream and I have both the same purpose," thought I. "Each would gain the sea, though by different means."
My reverie was broken by the clatter of horsemen, and fearing to be stopped and questioned, I ran down the approach to the bridge and, vaulting over the low parapet, stood ankle deep in the dewy grass, scarce daring to raise my eyes above the coping.
'Twas the same troop of horsemen I had seen a short while ago, and in their midst, his legs bound beneath his horse's belly, rode the man they had pursued, entreating and reviling his captors almost in the same breath.