The carriage had driven past a farm, and the sound he had heard had been the echo of his own horse's hoofs.

The discovery of this momentary self-deception quieted his apprehensions for a time, so that it seemed to him the danger was over.

He could now see the towers of Mantua.

"Drive on, man, drive on," he said under his breath, for he did not really wish the coachman to hear.

The coachman, nearing the goal, had given the horse his head.