ckened still more. They had done
well. But a horse that can cover fifty miles a day at its own gait, can
be exhausted in ten or less, if pushed. By the time Hoddan and his men
were within two miles of Ghek's castle, their mounts were extremely
reluctant to move faster than a walk. At a mile, they were kept in
motion only by kicks.

The route they followed was specific. There was no choice of routes,
here in the hills. They could only follow every twist and turn of the
trail, among steep mountain-flanks and minor peaks. But suddenly they
came to a clear wide valley, yellow cressets burned at its upper end, no
more than half a mile distant. They showed a castle gate, open, with the
last of a party of horsemen filing into it. Even as Hoddan swore, the
gate closed. Faint shouts of triumph came from inside the castle walls
to the completely frustrated pursuers without.

"I'd have bet on this," said Hoddan miserably. "Stop here, Thal. Pick
out a couple of your more hang-dog characters and fix them up with their
hands apparently tied behind their backs. We take a breather for five
minutes--no more."

He would not let any man dismount. He shifted himself about on his own
saddle, trying to find a comfortable way to sit. He failed. At the end
of five minutes he gave orders. There were still shouts occasionally
from within Ghek's castle. They had that unrhythmic frequency which
suggested that they were responses to a speech. Ghek was making a fine,
dramatic spectacle of his capture of an unwilling bride. He was
addressing his retainers and saying that through their fine loyalty,
co-operation and willingness to risk all for their chieftain, they now
had the Lady Fani to be their chatelaine. He thanked them from the
bottom of his heart and they were invited to the official wedding, which
would take place sometime tomorrow, most likely.

Before the speech was quite finished, however, Hoddan and his weary
following rode up into the patch of light cast by the cressets outside
the walls. Thal bellowed to the battlements.

"Prisoners!" he roared, according to instructions from Hoddan. "We
caught some prisoners in the ambush! They got fancy news! Tell Lord Ghek
he'd better get their story right off! No time to waste! Urgent!"

Hoddan played the part of one prisoner, just in case anybody noticed
from above that one man rode as if either entirely unskilled in riding
or else injured in a fight.

He heard shoutings, over the walls. He