"Hah!" ejaculated Denis, whose heart was beating fast, and stepping forward he stooped over his fallen adversary, raised a portion of his cloak and drew his blade through it twice over. "Stop!" he cried quickly. "What are you going to do?" His loud question was addressed to the chief groom. "No," cried the boy sternly; "lift him in yonder," and he pointed with his blade towards the saddle-room. "Lay him there; tear strips off his cloak, and bind up his arm and neck. The greatest help you can give him now is to stop the bleeding." There was a tone of command in the boy's uttered words which had the natural effect, and the men busied themselves at once with their task, taking with them their lanterns and doing at once as they had been told, while they were so intent upon their task that they did not notice that Denis had followed them, to draw to the door and slip the two bolts with which it was furnished into their sockets. Then sheathing his sword, he turned quickly to the stable, where the four chargers stood untethered, and caught his own by the bridle, to begin leading it to the door. He trusted to the nature of the horses for the result, old stable companions as they were, and it was as he expected, for the intelligent animals followed their leader quietly enough, to stand together in the entry waiting, like their master, for what might come. CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. A DASH FOR LIBERTY. "Oh!" groaned Denis to himself, as he stood in the darkness watching the shape of the saddle-room door, marked-out as it was in lines of light from the lanterns within, listening to the low muttering of voices, and shuddering once as his wounded adversary uttered a low deep groan, which was followed directly after by an angry ejaculation as if he were enraged by the clumsy surgery of the men. "Is all this going to be in vain?" muttered the boy. "It is as if the whole business is accursed and is bound to fail." He stood listening, and the talking went on, to be interrupted by another fierce ejaculation from the captain, who gave some order; but what it was Denis could not grasp, and he literally groaned again. "They do not come! They do not come!" he said. "It is all useless. They must have failed." He had hardly spoken the words when he fancied he heard steps; but all was still, and then he started violently and clapped his hand to his sword, for some one tried to open the saddle-room door, then shook it, and the words of whoever it was came plainly to the lad's cars: "I can't, Sir Robert. He has shut us in." "What!" came hoarsely; and at the same moment Denis's heart leaped, for there was no mistake this time. Footsteps were rapidly approaching, whether friends' or foes' it was impossible to tell, and taking a step outside the door with his bridle over his arm, his horse followed him, setting in motion the other three, which, well-trained as they were, ranged up alongside upon the cobble stones before the double doors.