Page:Tomlinson--The rider of the black horse.djvu/47

Rh tween himself and Dirck's house first of all, and then, secure in the belief that he could not be successfully followed by men who were not mounted, he would strive to cross the river and go on to New York on the opposite side.

But to cross the Hudson he must have aid, and Robert strove to think of the most probable places where he could secure some one to ferry him and his stolen horse to the eastern shore. Four or five miles down the river there was just such a ferry; and if he could only gain it before Russell should succeed in arranging for the crossing, there might be still some hope. The man would have to rouse the ferryman; there was a bare possibility that the latter might not be at home; there were other delays that might occur, and in the thought Robert once more increased the speed at which he was moving. He had entered a darker part of the rough roadway, where the tall trees shut out the moonlight on either side, but a hundred feet in advance of him he could see that the road led one into a broader place where the light was clearer and the dark trees were not so close to the border. For the first time Robert thought of his own safety and became aware of his defenseless condition. Hardly conscious of