CHAPTER XVI
IN THE WOOD
There had been an air of haste, almost of furtiveness, about this
swift appearance and more swift vanishing of Ella, that made Dunn
ask himself uneasily what errand she could have been on.
He hesitated for a moment, half expecting to see her return again,
or that there would be some other development, but he heard and saw
nothing.
He caught no further glimpse of Ella, whom the green depths of the
spinney hid well; and he heard no more shots.
After a little, he left the spot where he had been waiting and went
across to where he had seen her.
The exact spot where she had entered the spinney was marked, for
she had broken the branch of a young tree in brushing quickly by it,
and a bramble she had trodden on had not yet lifted itself from the
earth to which she had pressed it.
By other signs like these, plain enough and easy to read--for she
had hurried on in great haste and without care, almost, indeed, as
one who fled from some great danger or from some dreadful sight,
and who had no thought to spare save for flight alone--he followed
the way she had gone till it took him to a beaten public path that
almost at once led over a stile to the high road which passed in
front of Bittermeads. Along this beaten path, trodden by many,
Ella's light foot had left no perceptible mark, and Dunn made no
attempt to track her further, since it seemed certain that she had
been simply hurrying back home.
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