Page:Tomlinson--The rider of the black horse.djvu/304

288 it was necessary for him to stop at the house next beyond and at least permit his wearied horse to obtain some much-needed rest, he soon passed Dirck's lonely abode, and in a brief time could see the place where Joseph Nott had informed him that Hannah and her mother were staying.

It was by this time fully light, and the brightness of the early sun was flooding all things with its glory. Myriads of birds were to be heard in the woods and fields as he passed, and something of the peacefulness of the scene crept over Robert's heart. It was good, he thought, even for a brief time to be where the horrors of the sights he had recently seen no longer appeared; and, too, there was an added pleasure in the thought that he might soon see the resolute girl by whose quick wit and prompt action he had before escaped from Claudius Brown and his associates. As he drew near the house he discovered some one in the yard in front picking flowers from the bushes that bordered the walk from the house to the horse block by the side of the road. In a moment he perceived that it was Hannah herself, and he called to her as he leaped from the back of his horse and stopped near the horse block.