“By the appearance of your apparel, I should suppose you had not found the underbrush of the forest a very pleasant impediment to travel; your face and hands, too, I perceive, have suffered severely.”

“Yes, I have found darkness and the brush and thorns rather difficult opponents to contend with;” saying which, she glanced at her habiliments for the first time, and their tattered appearance caused her to blush; but in explanation, she narrated the adventures of the night, except such parts as related to the cave and her captors, which she deemed it best not to divulge, not knowing into whose hands she was falling.  As she finished the narrative, the other man came up with the horses, and she was assisted to mount the one adapted to her use, when the three immediately started on their journey.

We have only to say—­and the reader, most likely, has already anticipated us—­that these two men were none other than Bill and Dick disguised, who had accidentally fallen in with her in that unexpected place, to the great delight of the former, and with ill-concealed disappointment on the part of the latter.  They had intended to remain in the woods that day, and had just left the led horse for the purpose of making observations, when the unexpected event caused them to change their original intention, and set out on their journey for Virginia immediately.  Little dreamed Eveline that she had fallen into such hands—­that these, her seeming friends, were the very villains she had heard plotting their schemes of rascality and crime.  How different from what they were would have been her feelings, had she known the truth in relation to her situation!

* * * * *

’Squire Williams and his party had no difficulty in finding the way into the swamp, as pointed out in Bill’s note, and ere the sun was two hours in the heavens they had passed the marshy place spoken of, and were on the island, where, if the note of information was correct, they might expect to find Duffel and the stolen horse.

Here the ’Squire directed the men to remain while he went forward to reconnoiter and ascertain, if possible, where the animal and the villain were.  He returned in less than an hour, bringing the intelligence that he had found the whereabouts of the former, but had been able to discover no traces of the latter.

A consultation was held as to what should be done, but opinions were divided.  At this juncture Mr. Mandeville, who had manifested but little interest in the affair until now, and who was not apprised of the individuality of the persons they were after, seemed suddenly to become himself again, and taking in the whole subject at a glance, threw in his opinion to the following effect: 

“The horse being found as stated in the letter, we have every reason to believe that the thief is not far off; and as the beast cannot live without food, at some time during the day the thief, who is, doubtless, secreted somewhere about the vicinity of the horse, will come out to feed him.  I think all we need to do is to hide ourselves near the animal and wait for the fellow to appear.”