There was no reply. Simultaneously, our jaws dropped in amazed disappointment, whilst the colonel dashed to the door and flung it open.
Master Henry Cutler had vanished!
With vague suspicion in our minds, we rushed towards our room, but, before we had covered half the length of the darkened corridor, I tripped over a bar of wood, which had been placed there by design, and fell headlong, Granville and Colonel Firestone joining me company in a struggling heap on the floor.
Hastily regaining our feet, we burst into the bedroom.
Our worst fears were realised, for our gold had likewise vanished. "Fool! Dolt that I am," shouted the colonel furiously; "could I but lay hands on the rogue!"
Alarmed by the noise, the landlord appeared, while in the street a crowd of citizens collected, thinking, by reason of the dense cloud of smoke that poured from the house, that a fire had broken out.
By our foolish simplicity our host's silver tankard was spoiled, our money had been stolen, and the thief had got clear away in the confusion. And next morning, in order to pay for our accommodation and the damage done, we were obliged to take a bar of silver from the waggon and sell it at a third of its value to a rascally silversmith. So, lighter in pocket, yet improved in wisdom, we resumed our journey.
Over the extensive down towards Whitchurch our progress was tediously slow, so that Granville and I rode on ahead with Sergeant Lawson, keeping, as usual, to the grass by the roadside. For some distance there was not a tree to break the deadly monotony of the landscape but at length we came in sight of a small clump of firs hard by the highway.
Here we were compelled to take to the road again, and barely had our horses' hoofs struck the hard ground than there came a shout for help.
Without a moment's hesitation, Sergeant Lawson set spurs to his horse, and, dropping the reins and drawing sword and pistol, dashed towards the wood, guiding his steed solely by his knees. We followed, sword in hand, and as we gained the edge of the clump of firs we heard the sound of heavy bodies crashing through the brushwood on the farther side.