* * * * *
It was in the very early morning--between four and five--that
Elizabeth was wakened, first by vague movements in the house, and
then by what seemed to be cautious voices outside. She drew a
curtain back and looked out--a misty morning, between darkness and
dawn, and trees standing on the grass in dim robes of amethyst and
gold. Two men in the middle distance were going away from the house.
She craned her neck. Yes--no doubt of it! The Squire and Forest.
What could they be about at that hour of the morning? They were
going, no doubt, to inspect the barricades! Yet Forest himself had
told her that nothing would induce _him_ to take a hand in the
'row.'
It was strange; but she was too weary and depressed to give it much
thought. What was she going to do now? The world seemed emptily open
before her once more, chill and lonely as the autumn morning.
CHAPTER IX
On the following morning the breakfast at Mannering was a very tame
and silent affair. Forest was not in attendance, and the under
housemaid, who commonly replaced him when absent, could not explain
his non-appearance.
Pages:
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239