Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/238

210 advanced cautiously to the edge of the bushes that grew along the riverside. By turning her head to the right she could see the great bulk of the castle black against the sky, and she saw also by a light column of smoke arising beyond its keep that the remains of the burnt tower still smoldered. Here and there a narrow strip of light showed through a loophole, and as she looked she heard the voice of a sentry announcing that all was quiet. Almost directly in front of her were the tiny points of light that revealed the embers of the camp-fires left by the Count's soldiers.

She turned to the left, following the river-bank, but keeping well within the fringe of bushes. There was little risk, had she but known it, but she went as cautiously as if the slightest noise would bring a challenge, and hence could not make rapid progress. No disguise would avail, she was well aware, should she be found by any of the Count's soldiers, since the country folk had long ago abandoned their little settlement, giving over the region around the castle to the soldiery. She therefore crept cautiously on, not daring even to break a twig or to push her way through the small bushes. Now and then she startled birds and other woodland creatures, and each time this occurred she would catch her breath and shrink back in alarm. Slow as was her pace, she made good