Mexico weekly ledger., 1889-06-06
II.

By HEAVEN Ii FIND OUTl
The horse was all but walking. Swinging
into an easy, but rapid, trot, he soon caught
sight of the vehicle again.
Taken up with each other, the lovers
failed to notice the man with set, determined
face aud vigilant eye following in the rear;
close beside the woods that bordered the
road where the shades were darkest, keep
ing out of their sight, yet always keeping
them in his.
Luck seemed to favor him. There was no
Traveller in view On the road. But, unex-
pectedly, an old peasant, bending beneath a
bundle Of iagots, came out Of the forest
and, as soon as the carriage had passed,
turned around, with the usual rural curios-
ity, to look after it. So he did not observe
the figure that plunged into q bypath
among the trees and, d few moments later,
emerged at q point some distance beyond.
SThose servants reasoned their pursuer,
''can't possibly get out of sight, while I'm
among the trees, because the road is per-
fectly straight for some distance on, yet;
and they're going slowly, too
What was his dismay, then, on emerging
from the wood, to gee no carriage?
In establishment, he glanced up and down
the road.
Nothing was in sight, except the old
peasant, still toiling on with his bundle of
fagots; and, far beyond the latter, in the
distance, Il shepherd, driving q flock Of
sheep.
Whittier could they have Disappeared
They, certainly. had not gone on ahead
On the ether hand, he had been especially
careful to glance in the direction from
which they had come. 1t was, therefore,
equally certain that they could not have
turned back, unless-hera there came over
him q dina recollection of certain, half-con-
eealed w~oodpaths, or lanes. leading into the
forest.
1t was some distance from his present
position to even the nearest of these lanes,
Ho was very much out of breath, and by
the time he reached the first, darkness
would be rapidly falling. Still, he pressed
Oh. As he hurried past the flock of sheep
the shepherd started after him, evidently
amazed at the sight Of a gentleman running
along the public road.
He soon came to q wood-path on his left.
The sheep had nearly obliterated the wheel
tracks from the highway, but he was posi-
tive that he detected faint and apparently
fresh ruts running into this lane.
Onward he plodded, in a logged, deter
mined trot. So dark was it among the
trees and so dense The growth of weeds and
grasses along the path that it was quite i'm
possible to discover whether or not the We
hicle had, once again, turned from its course
down this lane into one of the numerous and
still smaller by-lanes that led into it on
either hand.
With patience he stil pursued the path,
until 1t began to ascend abruptly, and ended
at last in a clearing.
A broad, grassy plot lay stretched out be-
fore him. Beyond it was a huge mass of
table-rock. Then there seemed to come q
steep precipice.
He walked 10 the cliffs edge.
Was 1t a fancyf Or did he hear carriage.
wheels crashing over the stones belowl
Surely, that was a laugh that sniote uyon
his ear, just now. He listened intenfly.
But. not he coaid hear nothing, except tho
wind, signing through the pines, and the
spiashing waters of q brook, babbling in the
vale below.
The moon had now arisen in all It's siivery
splendor. For miles and miles around he
looked over q level valley, watercd By
streams and dotted with lakes that gIittered
In the ~raoonbeaIns.
A1his feet, several yards below, was a
broad terrace that seemed to fringe the side
Of the precipice Its entire length. and to
form the basis of a rough ca~rriageroad.
On the terrace, directly beneath bin. lay
something giitfering In the moons rays. Ii
attracted his attention and aroused his curl
csity. Slowly, he lowered himself frura
rock to rock, and, arriving on the terrace.
started in surprise, for this time he was
not mistaken. Here was the distinct and