helpless, when something was suddenly thrown over
her face, shrouding her in darkness, and before she
could resist she was lifted from her feet, hurried
across the lawn in a diverse direction from that
taken by Claude, and on arriving on the road, swung
into a lofty saddle. A huge arm from some one seated
behind received her, passing around her waist, and
feeling like the coil of a boa-constrictor; and, amidst
the sound of several persons mounting in haste, spurs
were struck into the sides of the large animal, that
reared with a vast bound which nearly dismounted
its riders; and at once, as it seemed, a troop were
flying with her at the top of their speed along the
road. Half fainting from terror, and stifling in the
folds of some coarse envelopment, she was unable to
utter a cry for help, and the cavalcade scoured along
its way. One seemed to ride before them, and the
rest behind. No one spoke, but her companion on the
crupper grasped her tightly, like a relentless fate, and
onwards they still bounded, and the deeply spurred
steeds in agony of exertion stretched themselves to
the task, and still they flew, and still Amanda strove
to recover her voice; till as the dumb, in some
moment of mortal terror, are said to have found speech,
she, with accents, that, bursting through the thick veil,
rung amidst the night, shrieked out the name of
Claude Montigny. A low, chuckling laugh arose
around her, followed by a curse, and a hoarse threat
of violence from the figure that rode on the crupper,
who at the same time again dug spurs into the
flanks of the courser, that once more, with its huge,
responding bound nearly dismounted its riders; and
prompted as it seemed by fear of a rescue, the rate

[[80]]

p079 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p080w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p080a

v?