Page:Tomlinson--The rider of the black horse.djvu/112

96 parted from the house to do his bidding. Far more fearful now, Hannah stepped to the door to watch their movements. All four men passed close to the ash-heap, but apparently it did not occur to any of them that such a place might be the very one where the man they were seeking was concealed. Two of them passed on to the barn, while Brown and his man at once began to inspect the places nearer the house. A new fear had seized upon Hannah now, and she was listening to discover if Robert's horse, which had been taken into the woods, would hear the men, and mistaking them for his master, expose his hiding-place by a whinny. In such an event the peril of all would be greatly increased; but in a brief time the men returned from the barn and joined their comrades who were standing near the ash-heap. A conversation, so low that Hannah could not hear what was said, followed, and in an agony of fear she watched every movement, not even glancing at her mother. It seemed to her that the men must suspect something, or they would not remain standing so long near the very place where the peril was greatest.

"Careful, Hannah," whispered her mother, as the girl peered out from the door. "You