e two riders talking! And she heard her
husband's name! And until that minute she thought perhaps they were
her friends.

"'Lord Cecil is a traitor! He deserves to be hung!' exclaimed one
voice in angry, excited tones. 'And he will be before many days go by.
I've never yet missed a man I've been sent out to get.'

"'And if we capture him alive, we'll get double pay, is that it?' asked
the second voice.

"'And not only that but I am to have his estate. I'll be the next Lord
of the Manor!'"

"Poor Lady Betty! It's a wonder she didn't scream!" exclaimed Kit.

"She was too wise to do that. Everything depended on her being brave
and not losing her head. At this very moment someone might be at old
Martha's cabin to take away Lord Cecil. If a price was on his head, he
was not safe for a second."

"And then what?" asked Kit excitedly. "What did she do then?"

"She waited until the riders were out of sight again and then went on.
Then at a turn in the road, she came face to face with another man on
horseback. Lady Betty was sure now that it was the end. She would be
imprisoned or held and not allowed to warn her husband. But her horse
whinnied and trotted beside the other horse and she saw the face of the
man. It was Denby, her old servant, whom she had left in charge at the
Manor."

"And what was he doing there?" exclaimed Kit impatiently. "I thought
she told him to guard the Manor."

"No, Denby was true. He noticed after she left that in her excitement
she had forgotten her bag of money, and he was on his way to King's
Bridge with it. So he turned and rode back with her toward Old
Martha's cabin."

"It was good he came, wasn't it?"

"Yes, for a few minutes after that, the old servant touched her sleeve.
'I hear distant riders, it must be soldiers! Let us take to the woods
here until they pass.'

"It seemed almost impossible, they thought, that the soldiers did not
see them, for they had not been concealed when the British troop rode
by on the way to the attack at King's Bridge. Lady Betty was trembling
with fright, as the officer in command called, 'Halt!'"

"O--ooh!" exclaimed Kit. "I would have died of fright, I know I would!"

"But Lady Betty didn't. She held on to the bridle with a firm grasp
and hardly breathed. You see she had to save not only her husband but
the Manor as well. Everything depended on her. Every moment she
expected to see the troops following them and the call to