And with malicious laughter, in which the other man heartily joined, he put spurs to his horse and urged the cavalcade to such speed as the heavy ground would permit.
In spite of their haste, the sun was sinking behind the mists that rose from the river, before they saw its shimmer through the trees. The road upon which they emerged from the bridle-path took a sharp turn at this spot and passed close to a little inn—a mere peasant's cottage, for all the announcement on the creaking signboard of entertainment for man and beast, and further information as to the hire and sale of boats at the adjacent ferry.
"Go forward, Steve, and see what folks are about, and if there be a seaworthy boat to be had, while we keep within this thicket out of sight of passers-by," said the duke, backing his horse into the wood, while Steve and Percival dismounted to reconnoiter the premises.
Steve quickly returned alone. "The ferry is close at hand," he said, "but I can find neither ferryman nor landlord. However, there are boats a-plenty at the landing, and if we press one for the king's service, 'tis no more than a loyal subject should rejoice to contribute to the cause! The wind is fair, the tide is on the turn, I can hoist a sail and handle an oar, and 'twill be strange if we leave not Sheerness in our wake at sunrise."
"You are sure there is no one spying about?" the duke inquired nervously. "How if they are merely hiding? Stay you here, Captain—I will examine the inn for myself—it will not do for you to fall into an ambush. And it would be well for Steve to stand sentinel at the bend of the road; he can warn us in time of any approaching wayfarer, for if I mistake not, the road over the waste lands can be plainly seen for several miles."
Left alone, Robin dropped the mask of careless gaiety under which he had hidden his dejection from his companions. About to leave the land that contained Prue, on a mission whose risks he had often braved without a thought except of audacious delight in danger and reckless defiance of the law from which he was an outcast, he was now beset by a thousand apprehensions for which he could have given no reason, but which chilled his loyal ardor and hung like an incubus upon his soul. How could he wish for his once-beloved Paris while Prue was in England? What cared he for the safe asylum of the French court while Prue in the English court was wooed by a score of suitors and pressed by dangers and temptations from which he was powerless to protect her? The setting sun seemed like an emblem of his own fate—except that it would surely rise again on the morrow, while he might sink for ever into forgetfulness. "Oh! my heart's joy, my only love, shall we never meet again?" he murmured. "Oh! for one more look into those sweet eyes; one last kiss from those beloved lips! Must I go without a farewell word; without sure hope that she will ever bestow another thought on me? Before God she is my wife—yet the outlaw has no God—no country—no wife—and how dare I hope that she who took me for an hour's frolic, would not some day gladly be rid of me for ever?"
Robin's reflections, painful and absorbing as they were, did not prevent his keeping a close watch on Steve, who now turned, and, with many signs of caution, retraced his steps. At the same time the distant sound of wheels became audible.
"Conceal yourself, Captain, there are travelers coming this way; we must withdraw until they have passed," said Steve, pushing his way through the bushes and preparing to lead his horse farther into the wood.
"We are four," said Robin. "It would ill become us to turn tail without knowing what we fly from."
"Four! Would you attempt to draw his grace into a broil?"