“ Come!” gasped the woman. “Fly, friend, ere he come back.”
“ Nay, let him come!” cried Alleyne. “I shall not budge a foot for him or his dogs.”
“ Come, come!” she cried, tugging at his arm. “I know the man: he will kill you. Come, for the Virgin's sake, or for my sake, for I cannot go and leave you here.”
“ Come, then,” said he; and they ran together to the cover of the woods. As they gained the edge of the brushwood, Alleyne, looking back, saw his brother come running out of the house again, with the sun gleaming upon his hair and his beard. He held something which flashed in his right hand, and he stooped at the threshold to unloose the black hound.
“ This way!” the woman whispered, in a low eager voice. “Through the bushes to that forked ash. Do not heed me; I can run as
