trotted off, at a smart pace. They must have seen or heard some
signal. Of course, up here on the top of the combe, one could see a
long way if the snow lulled for a moment."



CHAPTER III

THE MAN ON THE MOUND


It was very awesome sitting there by the firelight in the lonely barn,
hearing the strange moan of the snow-wind. When Mrs Cottier finished
her story we talked of all sorts of things; I think that we were both
a little afraid of being silent in such a place, so, as we ate, we
kept talking just as though we were by the fireside at home. I was
afraid that perhaps the revenue officers would catch us there and
force us to tell all we knew, and I was dreadfully frightened when I
remembered the captain in the bee-skep who had shaken my throat and
given me such a warning to be silent. When we had finished our supper,
I told Mrs Cottier that perhaps we could harness old Greylegs to the
trap, but this she thought would never do, as the drifts on the road
made it such bad going; at last I persuaded her to mount old Greylegs
and to ride astride like a boy, or like so many of the countrywomen in
our parts. When she had mounted I took the old pony by the head and
led him out, carrying the lantern in my hand.

When we got outside we found, to our great surprise, that the sky had
cleared--it was a night of stars now that the wind had changed. By the
"blink" of the snow our road was quite plain to us, and the sharp