"Strange the horses do not neigh, or give some sign of their presence!
One would have thought our approach would have startled them. But no, there is no whimper, no hoof-stroke; yet we must be close to them now.
I never knew of horses remaining so still? What can they be doing?
Where are they?"
"Ay, where are they?" echoed D"Hauteville; "surely this is the spot where we left them?"
"Here it certainly was! Yes--here--this is the very sapling to which I fastened my bridle. See! here are their hoof-prints. By Heaven! the _horses are gone_!"
I uttered this with a full conviction of its truth. There was no room left for doubt. There was the trampled earth where they had stood-- there the very tree to which we had tied them. I easily recognised it-- for it was the largest in the grove.
Who had taken them away? This was the question that first occurred to us. Some one had been d.o.g.g.i.ng us? Or had it been some one who had come across the animals by accident? The latter supposition was the less probable. Who would have been wandering in the woods on such a night?
or even if any one had, what would have taken them into the pawpaw thicket? Ha! a new thought came into my head--perhaps the horses had got loose of themselves?
That was likely enough. Well, we should be able to tell as soon as the lightning flashed again, whether they had set themselves free; or whether some human hand had undone the knotted bridles. We stood by the tree waiting for the light. It did not tarry long; and when it came it enabled us to solve the doubt. My conjecture was correct; the horses had freed themselves. The broken branches told the tale. Something-- the lightning--or more likely a prowling wild beast, had _stampeded_ them; and they had broken off into the woods.
We now reproached ourselves for having so negligently fastened them--for having tied them to a branch of the _asiminier_, whose soft succulent wood possesses scarcely the toughness of an ordinary herbaceous plant.
I was rather pleased at the discovery that the animals had freed themselves. There was a hope they had not strayed far. We might yet find them near at hand, with trailing bridles, cropping the gra.s.s.
Without loss of time we went in search of them--D"Hauteville took one direction, I another, while Aurore remained in the thicket of the pawpaws.
I ranged around the neighbourhood, went back to the fence, followed it to the road, and even went some distance along the road. I searched every nook among the trees, pushed through thickets and cane-brakes, and, whenever it flashed, examined the ground for tracks. At intervals I returned to the point of starting, to find that D"Hauteville had been equally unsuccessful.
After nearly an hour spent in this fruitless search, I resolved to give it up. I had no longer a hope of finding the horses; and, with despairing step, I turned once more in the direction of the thicket.
D"Hauteville had arrived before me.
As I approached, the quivering gleam enabled me to distinguish his figure. He was standing beside Aurore. He was conversing familiarly with her. I fancied he was _polite_ to her, and that she seemed pleased. There was something in this slight scene that made a painful impression upon me.
Neither had he found any traces of the missing steeds. It was no use looking any longer for them; and we agreed to discontinue the search, and pa.s.s the night in the woods.
It was with a heavy heart that I consented to this; but we had no alternative. Afoot we could not possibly reach New Orleans before morning; and to have been found on the road after daybreak would have insured our capture. Such as we could not pa.s.s without observation; and I had no doubt that, at the earliest hour, a pursuing party would take the road to the city.
Our most prudent plan was to remain all night where we were, and renew our search for the horses as soon as it became day. If we should succeed in finding them, we might conceal them in the swamp till the following night, and then make for the city. If we should not recover them, then, by starting at an earlier hour, we might attempt the journey on foot.
The loss of the horses had placed us in an unexpected dilemma. It had seriously diminished our chances of escape, and increased the peril of our position.
_Peril_ I have said, and in such we stood--peril of no trifling kind.
You will with difficulty comprehend the nature of our situation. You will imagine yourself reading the account of some ordinary lover"s escapade--a mere runaway match, _a la Gretna Green_.
Rid yourself of this fancy. Know that all three of us had committed an act for which we were amenable. Know that my _crime_ rendered me liable to certain and severe punishment by the _laws of the land_; that a still more terrible sentence might be feared _outside the laws of the land_.
I knew all this--I knew that life itself was imperilled by the act I had committed!
Think of our danger, and it may enable you to form some idea of what were our feelings after returning from our bootless hunt after the horses.
We had no choice but stay where we were till morning.
We spent half-an-hour in dragging the _tillandsia_ from the trees, and collecting the soft leaves of the pawpaws. With these I strewed the ground; and, placing Aurore upon it, I covered her with my cloak.
For myself I needed no couch. I sat down near my beloved, with my back against the trunk of a tree. I would fain have pillowed her head upon my breast, but the presence of D"Hauteville restrained me. Even that might not have hindered me, but the slight proposal which I made had been declined by Aurore. Even the hand that I had taken in mine was respectfully withdrawn!
I will confess that this coyness surprised and piqued me.
CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT.
A NIGHT IN THE WOODS.
Lightly clad as I was, the cold dews of the night would have prevented me from sleeping; but I needed not that to keep me awake. I could not have slept upon a couch of eider.
D"Hauteville had generously offered me his cloak, which I declined. He, too, was clad in cottonade and linen--though that was not the reason for my declining his offer. Even had I been suffering, I could not have accepted it. I began to fear him!
Aurore was soon asleep. The lightning showed me that her eyes were closed, and I could tell by her soft regular breathing that she slept.
This, too, annoyed me!
I watched for each new gleam that I might look upon her. Each time as the quivering light illumined her lovely features, I gazed upon them with mingled feelings of pa.s.sion and pain. Oh! could there be falsehood under that fair face? Could sin exist in that n.o.ble soul? After all was I _not_ beloved?
Even so, there was no withdrawing now--no going back from my purpose.
The race in which I had embarked must be run to the end--even at the sacrifice both of heart and life. I thought only of the purpose that had brought us there.
As my mind became calmer, I again reflected on the means of carrying it out. As soon as day should break, I would go in search of the horses-- track them, if possible, to where they had strayed--recover them, and then remain concealed in the woods until the return of another night.
Should we not recover the horses, what then?
For a long time, I could not think of what was best to be done in such a contingency.
At length an idea suggested itself--a plan so feasible that I could not help communicating it to D"Hauteville, who like myself was awake. The plan was simple enough, and I only wondered I had not thought of it sooner. It was that he (D"Hauteville) should proceed to Bringiers, procure other horses or a carriage there, and at an early hour of the following night meet us on the Levee Road.
What could be better than this? There would be no difficulty in his obtaining the horses at Bringiers--the carriage more likely.
D"Hauteville was not known--at least no one would suspect his having any relations with me. I was satisfied that the disappearance of the quadroon would be at once attributed to me. Gayarre himself would know that; and therefore I alone would be suspected and sought after.
D"Hauteville agreed with me that this would be the very plan to proceed upon, in case our horses could not be found; and having settled the details, we awaited with less apprehension for the approach of day.
Day broke at length. The grey light slowly struggled through the shadowy tree-tops, until it became clear enough to enable us to renew the search.
Aurore remained upon the ground; while D"Hauteville and I, taking different directions set out after the horses.
D"Hauteville went farther into the woods, while I took the opposite route.
I soon arrived at the zigzag fence bounding the fields of Gayarre; for we were still upon the very borders of his plantation. On reaching this, I turned along its edge, and kept on for the point where the bye-road entered the woods. It was by this we had come in on the previous night, and I thought it probable the horses might have taken it into their heads to stray back the same way.
I was right in my conjecture. As soon as I entered the embouchure of the road, I espied the hoof-tracks of both animals going out towards the river. I saw also those we had made on the previous night coming in. I compared them. The tracks leading both ways were made by the same horses. One had a broken shoe, which enabled me at a glance to tell they were the same. I noted another "sign" upon the trail. I noted that our horses in pa.s.sing out dragged their bridles, with branches adhering to them. This confirmed the original supposition, that they had broken loose.
It was now a question of how far they had gone. Should I follow and endeavour to overtake them? It was now bright daylight, and the risk would be great. Long before this, Gayarre and his friends would be up and on the alert. No doubt parties were already traversing the Levee Road as well as the bye-paths among the plantations. At every step I might expect to meet either a scout or a pursuer.
The tracks of the horses showed they had been travelling rapidly and straight onward. They had not stopped to browse. Likely they had gone direct to the Levee Road, and turned back to the city. They were livery horses, and no doubt knew the road well. Besides, they were of the Mexican breed--"mustangs." With these lively animals the trick of returning over a day"s journey without their riders is not uncommon.
To attempt to overtake them seemed hopeless as well as perilous, and I at once gave up the idea and turned back into the woods. As I approached the pawpaw thicket, I walked with lighter tread. I am ashamed to tell the reason. Foul thoughts were in my heart.
The murmur of voices fell upon my ear.