ths and the way
was rough and full of holes. Stumbling along in the dark they came,
after a little, to a house from the upper story of which a bright light
was shining. De Lacy glanced indifferently at the window--then halted
short and seizing Dauvrey's arm pointed upward.

Just inside the open casement, and standing so that every line of his
face and shoulders was distinctly visible, was the man De Lacy and all
the royal commanders of England had been seeking for the last three
weeks.

His thick red hair was bare of casquetel and there could be no
mistaking that great, flat nose, even if there had not been the bright
scar blazed across the face by Sir John de Bury's sword, and the short,
thick-set figure to complete the identification.

De Lacy's heart gave a great leap. Was this, then, the end of his
chase? Was Beatrix in yonder house? Would he soon hold her in his
arms--or was he about to learn that she was lost to him for ever? In
the tumultuous rush of feeling his power of quick decision left him for
the moment; but Dauvrey's muffled exclamation broke the spell.

"It is he--Flat-Nose!"

"Aye!" De Lacy whispered, drawing the squire aside into the shadow.
"He must be seized at once. Summon the men and surround the house. I
will remain on guard. Hasten, Giles! In God's name, hasten!"

Dauvrey plunged away into the darkness and Aymer, choosing a position
from which he could best watch the window, but at the same time be
himself hidden, settled back to his anxious wait.

Flat-Nose was not alone; presently he began to speak to some one behind
him, and hoping to overhear the conversation, Aymer worked his way with
great care across the road to the house. There were no lights on the
lower floor, and the upper story, projecting a foot or more over the
street, made him secure from observation.

But the new position was very little better than the other one; and try
as he might he could not catch anything but an occasional word which,
in itself, had no significance. He began to grow impatient--it seemed
most unduly long since Dauvrey had gone.

Then a chair was shoved back in the room above and some one began to
move about. Suddenly a head was thrust out and Flat-Nose peered into
the darkness.

"God in Heaven! what blackness!" he exclaimed. "The Devil's own night
for a ride. . . No danger," he went on, answering some remark from
within. "I know every path in Yorkshire."

It was evident he was pre