"And what of Mr. Alban?" she asked.
"Mr. Alban was upstairs. They missed him. He is coming here after dark,
the maid says."
* * * * *
An hour after supper-time the priest came quietly upstairs to the
parlour. He showed no signs of his experience, except perhaps by a
certain brightness in his eyes and an extreme self-repression of manner.
Marjorie was up to meet him; and had in her hands a paper. She hardly
spoke a single expression of relief at his safety. She was as quiet and
business-like as ever.
"You must lie here to-night," she said. "Janet hath your room ready. At
one o'clock in the morning you must ride: here is a map of your journey.
They may come back suddenly. At the place I have marked here with red
there is a shepherd's hut; you cannot miss it if you follow the track I
have marked. There will be meat and drink there. At night the shepherd
will come from the westwards; he is called David, and you may trust him.
You must lie there two weeks at least."
"I must have news of the other priests," he said.
Marjorie bowed her head.
"I will send a letter to you by Dick Sampson at the end of two weeks.
Until that I can promise nothing. They may have spies round the house by
this time to-morrow, or even earlier. And I will send in that letter any
news I can get from Derby."
"How shall I find my way?" asked Robin.
"Until it is light you will be on ground that you know.
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