There they go again!"
"I see them, Roger. It may be that they are spies, who have crept up
close. Let us give chase to them."
"Shall I shout, master?"
"No, no. This is not an attack. Stoop as low as you can or, if they
look back, they will see that great figure of yours, and be off like
hares. Run as softly as you can."
Stooping low, they set off at a run and, being certain that the figures
were making straight for the forest, they did not pause to get another
glimpse of them, but ran straight on. They had gone some seventy or
eighty yards, when they heard a stifled exclamation; and then, without
further attempt at concealment, two figures rose from a bush twenty
yards ahead, and fled for the forest. There was no more occasion for
stooping and, at the top of their speed, Oswald and Roger pursued the
fugitives.
These ran fast, but Oswald, who had outpaced his heavier companion,
came up to them when within fifty yards of the edge of the forest; and,
passing them, drew his sword and faced them.
"Surrender," he said, "or I will cut you down."
Instead of the fierce spring that he had anticipated, the two figures
stopped suddenly, exchanged a word in Welsh, and then dropped their
cloaks.
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