Page:Randall Parrish--My Lady of the South.djvu/50

MY LADY OF THE SOUTH men would never perceive me at that distance from the veranda, unless some unusual noise should reveal our passage; the greater danger of discovery lay with "Massa George" or the negro Joe, one or perhaps both of whom would very likely be with the waiting horses, near where the garden fence came out even with the road.

I advanced thus as far as the shed, seeing and hearing nothing in any way to alarm me; the house was unlighted, and I could perceive no movement in the darkness ahead, not even the restless motion of horses. I knew where these should be tethered, however, and holding my own animal firmly by the bit, my other hand grasping his nostrils, I led him cautiously forward beneath the blackness of the overhanging boughs. We must have advanced thus for a hundred feet or more, scarcely making a rustling in the short grass under-foot, when a horse neighed shrilly to our right. My horse as instantly stopped and flung up his head, the sudden, unexpected movement loosening my grip. As I hastened to restrain him, my hand struck the overhanging branch of a tree, rattling the leaves sharply. Instantly a dim figure rose up apparently in the very middle of the road.

"Who am dar?" It was the voice of the negro, startled, trembling, yet loud with alarm. "Massa George; Massa George, sah!"

He had not even then perceived me in the shadow, yet I durst not move an inch, and I could hear George hastily leap the fence. I swung silently up into the saddle, my first impulse being to drive in the spurs and ride recklessly. But the negro had located me now, and, encouraged by [ 42 ]