He could hear the distant tramp of the horse, sinking faintly out of hearing.
"That I, who have lived in the woods all my life, should have been startled by an owl, and at such a moment!" Cursing the youth's good fortune, not less than his own weakness, the fierce disappointment of Guy Rivers was such that he fairly gnashed his teeth with vexation.

At first, he thought to dash after his victim, but his own steed had been fastened near the cottage, several hundred yards distant, and he was winded too much for a further pursuit that night.
Colleton was, meanwhile, a mile ahead, going forward swimmingly, never once dreaming of danger.

He was thus far safe.

So frequently and completely had his enemy been baffled in the brief progress of a single night, that he was almost led to believe--for, like most criminals, he was not without his superstition--that his foe was under some special guardianship.

With ill-concealed anger, and a stern impatience, he turned..