Page:Tomlinson--The rider of the black horse.djvu/82

66 had left his trusty horse, and taking him by the bridle, began to lead him down the pathway. The road could not be many yards distant, he assured himself, and he would look keenly about him as he advanced cautiously, Nero's footfalls being almost as silent as his own.

He drew back hastily among the trees when he was convinced that he heard the sound of men coming up the pathway before him. Some high bushes were growing close to the path, and taking his stand behind these he waited for the men to come near. He was in an agony of fear that he would be discovered. The slightest sound on the part of Nero would be sufficient to disclose his presence. He gently rubbed the horse's nose, at the same time peering out for the coming of the men. Nor had he long to wait, for in a brief time he perceived three men coming swiftly up the pathway, every one crouching low and holding a gun in his hands.

"I tell you," one of them was saying in a low voice, "we 're all wrong. What Claud meant was for us to stay and wait for him to come."

"No such thing," said another. "The signal was for us to stay where we were and be on the lookout."