They might not be able to prove upon him the robbery of the gold, but at least one witness had seen him shoot down Bully Bullen, and would doubtless swear that there had been no provocation beyond that of seeking to take into custody a man upon whose head a reward had been set.
He touched the mare with the spurs, and set her head straight for the forest.

The late moon was beginning to silver the world about him; Tom saw the ground gliding ghostlike beneath him as the noble creature sprang forward.
"Away to the forest! away to the forest!" seemed the tune beaten out by the rhythm of her flying feet.

No fear from pursuit now! Tom sang and shouted in the strange tumult of his feelings, as he galloped through the soft, scented night.
Lord Claud had been right.

The forest was the place for him.

He had tried the life of the rustic, the life of the town exquisite; and both had palled upon him.