"Ha! ha! ha! one would think I was going for life—ha! ha—"
There was a scream on the frosty air without. His laugh died on his lips.
"What was that?" he said, and drew a sharp breath.
She lifted her face, whiter now than ever, and with tearless eyes.
"It was the cry of the bird that foretells death," she said in a whisper.
He laughed a little—boisterously.
"Nay, nay; you will be well and happy yet." Then he broke away.
Natt was sitting in the trap, and it was drawn up in the court-yard to the door. He was looking through the darkness at some object in the distance, and when Paul came up he was not at first conscious of his master's presence.
"What were you looking at, Natt?" said Paul, pulling on his gloves.