Oliver and Loman were crouching under a tree, the former without coat or waistcoat, which he had thrown round the shivering and now senseless form of his companion.
It was no time for words, either of joy or explanation; time enough for that when every one was safe indoors. Mr Rastle and Roach between them carried Loman, while Oliver, in scarcely better plight, was helped along by his brother and friend.
“Is it far?” he asked, faintly.
“No, old man; that light there is Saint Dominic’s.”
“Is it? I didn’t know that when I shouted; I thought we were miles away.”
“Oh, no! Hold up, old boy; we’re just there.”
And so this strange procession returned before the wind to Saint Dominic’s, and when, a few minutes later, watchers and rescuers and rescued all gathered in the Doctor’s study, Oliver, as well as Loman, was insensible.
It was some days before the true story of that terrible night could be told, and then Oliver only told it briefly.
Late in the afternoon, as he was about to turn back, he said, he heard from a farmer’s boy that he had seen a stranger that morning asleep under a hedge about a mile off. Vague as this information was, it decided Oliver at once to go forward, which he did. As might have been expected, there was no trace of the “stranger” at the hedge, and no amount of searching along it could discover any clue. Still, he did not like to turn back while a chance remained. He went on towards Grandham, inquiring of everybody and looking everywhere.
At last—it was getting dusk—he entered a field across which ran a footpath which led direct to Grandham Green. He was half way across, wondering if he could by any chance find a cart or vehicle of any kind to drive him back to Saint Dominic’s, when at the other side of the field he suddenly caught sight of a figure getting up from under the hedge and moving quickly away. He instantly and instinctively gave chase. The other, seeing he was discovered, began to run too. It was Loman. Oliver called to him to stop, but he paid no heed. He continued to run as long as he could, and then, like a hunted animal, turned at bay.