"  Yeomanry  ! "

"  After  you  ?  "

Tom  nodded,  as  they  broke  into  a  gallop,  making  straight
across  the  heath  toward  the  Oxford  road.  They  were  some
quarter  of  a  mile  in  advance  before  any  of  their  pursuers
,  showed  over  the  brow  of  the  hill  behind  them.  It  was  already
getting  dusk,  and  a  great  bank  of  cloud  was  by  this  time  all
but  upon  them,  making  the  atmosphere  denser  and  darker
every  second.  Then,  first  one  of  the  men  appeared  who  had
ridden  straight  up  the  hill  under  the  Hawk's  lynch,  and,  pull-
ing up  for  a  moment,  caught  sight  of  them  and  gave  chase.
Half  a  minute  later,  and  several  of  those  who  had  kept  to  the
road  were  also  in  sight,  some  distance  away  on  the  left,  but
still  near  enough  to  be  unpleasant ;  and  they,  too,  after  a
moment's  pause,  were  in  full  pursuit.  At  first  the  fugitives  held
their  own,  and  the  distance  between  them  and  their  pursuers
was  not  lessened,  but  it  was  clear  that  this  could  not  last.
Anything  that  horse-flesh  is  capable  of,  a  real  good  Oxford  hack,
such  as  they  rode,  will  do  ;  but  to  carry  two  full-grown  men  at
the  end  of  a  pretty  long  day,  a^ay  from  fi-esh  horses  and
moderate  weights,  is  too  much  to  expect  even  of  Oxford  horse-
flesh ;  and  the  gallant  beast  which  Tom  rode  was  beginning  to
show  signs  of  distress  when  they  struck  into  the  road.  There
was  a  slight  dip  in  the  ground  at  this  place,  and  a  little  further
on  the  heath  rose  suddenly  again,  and  the  road  ran  between
high  banks  for  a  short  distance.
