He had overheard enough to know where the Captain was, and how he might revenge himself on me.

He had contrived to slip away at Knockfergus, and, being better guided than we, had reached Castleroe in time to warn the villain of my coming.

Whether he lent his hand to the carrying off of the two maids, 'twas hard to say.

But it seemed plain that, at the first warning, they had been carried off, and that the Captain that night had ridden away, not to leave them behind, but to make good his possession of them elsewhere.

Why Peter should be left hanging thus, 'twas not hard to guess.