He was standing by the table, as I have said, when suddenly, without the sound of an opening door, or the fall of a footstep behind him, a great cloak was thrown over his head, and wound tightly round his body; he was lifted off his feet silently, and borne off, he knew not by whom or whither. It was useless to struggle or cry out, for he was almost smothered, and his captor's arms were as strong as his step was swift and silent. Yet Dick writhed and trembled in despair for he knew not how long, till he heard a horse stamping close by. Then he felt himself lifted up. Another pair of arms, steel-clad and unyielding, received him. He was on the back of a horse. Then there was the sound of a man dropping into the saddle close to him. Bridles jingled, saddles creaked, scabbards tapped spurred heels, but no one spoke. Then eight hoofs beat the earth together, and Dick found, by the sway of the man who now held him, that they were going at a hand-gallop, and by the thud, thud at their side that another rider accompanied them. On and on they went in that appalling silence, never speaking or making any human sound. The horses snorted occasionally, but he that held Dick never seemed to breathe. Terror, and the heat of the thick cloak, and the wild pace together made Dick sick and giddy. He made one or two desperate efforts to get his hands free, but they were useless, and he lay still again, trembling and choking. Perhaps he fainted, or perhaps he slept, but anyhow, when the smothering cloak was at last removed, he found himself in a dismal little chamber, with a high grated slit in the wall far out of reach. A man was standing over him, holding a light. "Eat your supper," he said sternly, pointing to a plate of bread and meat, "and then go to sleep." Dick begged him to say where he was, who had brought him there, and what for. But the man relapsed into silence, and went out and locked the door after him. Dick rushed to it, and called, and entreated, and cried, but nobody came; and when he listened, the silence was unbroken and terrible. But there were other people in the house--a lonely farmhouse, miles away from Lumley, in the midst of desolate moors. At the end of a long passage was a room with fire and lights, and there John Dent, in armour, looking very hard and dangerous, was striding up and down restlessly, his hand on the hilt of his sword. He had been arrested, on Dick's information, as a traitor, and awaiting the arrival of Giles to bear testimony against him, had been confined to his quarters, from whence he had escaped. He had with him his servant, Newton, and he had met at this farm Master Purvis, who lodged there, and a renegade Cavalier--broken, that is, dismissed from his regiment, for neglecting his duty.