she fancied she caught the sound of galloping hoofs and the clatter of steel in the village below. But all seemed at peace. The wind had sunk with the sun, and hardly a leaf stirred. The sounds that met her ears were only the uncouth voices of the herdsmen and labourers discussing the news of the day in front of the tavern door. Her steps had led her some short distance from the Abbey among the clumps of evergreens that formed a screen on its eastern front. It was darker there, and the loneliness and gloom suited her state of mind. She wandered on with bent head, lost in thought, until the cracking of a dry twig recalled her to herself. She looked up, and fancied she could see the boughs of a laurel on her right move. The next moment she heard her own name whispered-- "Cecily!" She started back frightened, and would have turned and fled, but the next words reassured her. "'Tis I--Hugh--make no sound!" "Hugh? And you are in danger! I know it--we have heard all"; and the girl stepped forward and thrust her hand among the branches, when it was seized and held. "Yes, they are after me--hunting me down as though I were some red deer. They will soon be here. It was my last chance or I would not have come, bringing peril to my mother and you." "No, no; 'tis your home. It was right you should come; we may help you--you must hide; but where? I know of no spot in the house which would not be instantly discovered." "The house will not do. I must not be seen by a soul but you. No one must know I am near the place. Hark!"--and far away in the distance could be heard the clatter of galloping horses and the rattle of steel. "Oh, Hugh, they are coming! What can we do--what can we do?" For answer the young man pushed his way through the branches, and, standing beside his cousin, said: "What is this you are wearing, child?" "My cloak." "The very thing! Give it to me"; and as he took it off her shoulders, "Now go and see that there is no one in front of the house. It will be in shadow at present, till the moon is higher, and, thank God, there will not be much of that this night, for she is yet but young; if none be about, then raise your kerchief to your face and continue your walk." "And you?" asked Cecily, as she turned back down the path. "Wait and see. Hurry, for I hear the horses rising the hill."