He had borrowed from Captain Quist a little tobacco and a pipe; and, after cautiously looking about him, he filled and lit this, and began to feel more resigned to his position. From where he lay, he could see, through the tangled growth above him, the towers and chimneys of Chater Hall; raising his head a little he could see a path, which wound across some slightly rising ground, and appeared to lead from the Hall down to the road near which he lay—entry to the road from it being obtained through a wooden gate in the high paling, which surrounded the grounds at the point where they joined the road. The Hall being high above him, he could see this path in its windings and twistings very clearly; and, as it was a short cut to the village, it appeared to be used pretty often. It amused and interested the fugitive, lying hidden there, to watch this path, and those who came down it; he found himself wondering idly whether he should ever tread that path again or set foot in Chater Hall, and under what circumstances. Knowing nothing of the locality, Philip had not chosen his hiding place so well as he had hoped; for presently he was startled by the noise of wheels behind him. Rising hurriedly, he looked over a bank, sheer down into a road below—a road not so broad as that which lay at some distance in front of him, but broad enough for vehicles. Indeed, the vehicle which Philip had heard had stopped immediately below him, and a man in it was alighting. So close was it, and so immediately underneath where he lay in the thick undergrowth, that Philip could hear distinctly what this man said to the driver. “I brought you this way—because I have a fancy for going up to the Hall unannounced—just a mere whim of mine. I can get over from here. It’ll be—ha—ha—a little surprise for them—won’t it!” The man muttered something, which Philip could not catch; received his fare; turned his horse’s head, and drove back the way he had come. The man stood quite still in the road, until the vehicle was out of sight; then began to climb the bank, which led to the place where Philip was concealed.