Page:Tomlinson--The rider of the black horse.djvu/214

198 his thoughts turned to the fate of Hannah Nott. What had become of her and her mother? The ruins of the home were not assuring, for, if Mr. Nott and the sons had been unable to prevent that calamity, was it probable that they had been any more successful in driving away the members of the marauding band? Then, too, there was Dirck Rykman and the report of his arrest for leading a band of Tories. Could it be possible that the sturdy young Dutchman had been false to his promises? If he had, then what might befall his little family would not be unlike that which the Notts had been compelled to suffer, though whatever might be done would be done by the men whose sympathies were on the side opposed to those who had harmed the Notts. But suffering was suffering whatever its source might be, and Robert Dorlon was seriously troubled as he rode forward, moving more slowly now that the immediate danger which he most feared, apparently no longer threatened him.

These thoughts were in his mind as he rode slowly up the long hill. When he came to the summit he could see the valley in the dim light stretching away before him, and for a moment his anxiety returned. He could per-