evidently adopted greater caution in their
movements as they came closer to where they expected to find the
enemy. The marauders began to grow anxious. Even at our distance we
could gather as much from their attitude and movements.

Presently, when the suspense of their ignorance grew too much for
them, they drew to the entrance of the glade, which was the farthest
place to which, without exposing themselves to anyone who might come
to the valley, they could withdraw from their captive. Here they
consulted together. We could follow from their gestures what they
were saying, for as they did not wish their prisoner to hear, their
gesticulation was enlightening to us as to each other. Our people,
like all mountaineers, have good eyes, and the Gospodar is himself an
eagle in this as in other ways. Three men stood back from the rest.
They stacked their rifles so that they could seize them easily. Then
they drew their scimitars, and stood ready, as though on guard.

These were evidently the appointed murderers. Well they knew their
work; for though they stood in a desert place with none within long
distance except the pursuing party, of whose approach they would have
good notice, they stood so close to their prisoner that no marksman
in the world--now or that ever had been; not William Tell
himself--could have harmed any of them without at least endangering
her. Two of them turned the Voivodin round so that her face was
towards the precipice--in which position she could not see what was
going on--whilst he who was evidently leader of the gang explained,
in gesture, that the others were going to spy upon the pursuing
party. When they had located them he, or one of his men, would come
out of the opening of the wood wherein they had had evidence of them,
and hold up his hand.

That was to be the signal for the cutting of the victim's
throat--such being the chosen method (villainous even for heathen
murderers) of her death. There was not one of our men who did not
grind his teeth when we witnessed the grim action, only too
expressive, of the Turk as he drew his right hand, clenched as though
he held a yataghan in it, across his throat.

At the opening of the glade all the spying party halted whilst the
leader appointed to each his place of entry of the wood, the front of
whi