But the horses, the woman, and--though I say it who should not--the man were of God's best handiwork, and the cords of our lives did not snap.

One thought, and only one, held possession of the girl, and the matter of her own life or death had no place in her mind.
When we reached the cross-road where I was to leave her, we halted while I instructed Dorothy concerning the road she should follow from that point to Rutland, and directed her how to proceed when she should arrive at the castle gate.

She eagerly listened for a moment or two, then grew impatient, and told me to hasten in my speech, since there was no time to lose.

Then she fearlessly dashed away alone into the black night; and as I watched her fair form fade into the shadows, the haunting cry came faintly back to me,--"On, Dolcy, on; on, Dolcy on," and I was sick at heart.

I was loath to leave her thus in the inky gloom.