ill go and see it.

"Come with me, Pierre. We will go very quietly, for it would scare
them terribly, did they hear anyone approaching."

Making their way noiselessly through the wood they came, after
walking about three hundred yards, to the edge of an open space
among the trees, where they halted. In the centre they could see,
in the moonlight, a body of some seventy or eighty people gathered.
Standing upon the trunk of a fallen tree was a minister who was
addressing them.

"My brethren," he was saying, when they could catch his words,
"this is the last time we shall meet here. We know that suspicions
have already arisen that we are holding meetings, and that we do so
at the peril of our lives. The search for me has been hot, for some
days; and though I am willing enough to give my life in the cause
of our Lord, I would not bring destruction upon you, at the present
moment. Were the prospects hopeless, I should say, 'let us continue
together here, till the last;' but the sky is clearing, and it may
be that, ere long, freedom of worship may be proclaimed throughout
France. Therefore it is better that, for a time, we should abstain
from gathering ourselves together. Even now, the persecutors may be
on our track."

"Pierre," Philip whispered, "do you go over in that direction,
until you come to the edge of the wood. If you see any signs of men
moving about, run quickly to the others, and bring the horses up
here."

"I had better go back there first, had I not, Monsieur Philip, and
bring the men and horses along with me to the edge of the wood? For
I might lose a quarter of an hour in searching for them."

"That would be the best plan, Pierre. Should you hear a sudden
noise here, hurry in this direction, and I will come to meet you.
It may well be that, guessing the Huguenots would place someone on
watch towards the town, the Catholics may, if they come, approach
from the other side. Should you see anyone coming, give a loud
shout, at once. It will act as a warning to these people, and
enable them to scatter and fly, before their foes arrive."

For an hour the preacher continued to address his hearers,
exhorting them to stand firm in the faith, and to await with
patience the coming of better days. They were not more than twenty
paces away from the spot where Philip was standing, and in the
moonlight he could clearly see the faces of the assembly, for the
preacher was standing with his back to him. From their dre