At some distance away the group of buildings loomed up darkly under the starry heavens; first the house and its nearer outbuildings, hen-house, meat-house, corn-crib and wood-shed; a little beyond these stood the stable. The girls heard the tramping of the horses and saw dark figures moving stealthily. There were apparently only two or three persons. Alison’s heart beat fast. She felt very sure that this hiding-place of hers would not be discovered, that a fire directed from this point of vantage would surprise the intruders and, unless they were in large enough numbers to assume the offensive, that she and Louisa might well expect to frighten them off. She knew that Hero was the most valuable of the horses and was Christine’s especial pet; the fact of his belonging to Stephen gave him so large a claim upon her affections that if he were taken she would be inconsolable, therefore Alison was determined to rescue him at all hazards. The others she would be sorry to lose, but they were less valuable. She hoped that Christine would not awaken, for if she gave the alarm and directed the men’s attention to the house where she was alone it might be the worse for her, since a desperado would stand at nothing. The country was full of such men who lost no opportunity of securing plunder whenever chance afforded, and who would not hesitate to commit murder when thwarted. Dreadful possibilities crowded to Alison’s mind as she crouched in the dew-laden thicket by Louisa’s side. She regretted her sudden resolve in leaving the house and shivered, not from the chill of the night air, but from a sharp alarm. “Skeered?” whispered Louisa. “No, not exactly,” Alison returned. “I was thinking of Tina; if she should wake up; if they were to go to the house and find her alone.” “Sh!” Louisa appreciated the situation, but her courage was high. “I don’t believe they want anything but the horses and they ain’t got an idea of going to the house.” She kept her eyes fixed upon the stable from which now came three mounted horsemen. Each of the two foremost men led two horses and the third had Hero in charge. Alison set her teeth hard as the first two men passed beyond the clump of trees, and just here, as luck would have it, the last of the three fell a little behind the others on account of Hero’s sudden swerving. Did he detect the presence of his friends hidden in the thicket, that he plunged and pranced at such a rate? At all events his behavior called down growling curses from the man who led him.