It was very dark, and the wind was increasing. The last gust had beenpreceded by an ominous roaring down the whole mountain-side, whichcontinued for some time after the trees in the little valley had lapsedinto silence. The air was filled with a faint, cool, sodden odor, asof stirred forest depths. In those intervals of silence the darknessseemed to increase in proportion and grow almost palpable. Yet out ofthis sightless and soundless void now came the tinkle of a spur'srowels, the dry crackling of saddle leathers, and the muffled plunge ofa hoof in the thick carpet of dust and desiccated leaves. Then avoice, which in spite of its matter-of-fact reality the obscurity lenta certain mystery to, said:—
"I can't make out anything! Where the devil have we got to, anyway?It's as black as Tophet, here ahead!"
"Strike a light and make a flare with something," returned a secondvoice. "Look where you're shoving to—now—keep your horse off, willye."
There was more muffled plunging, a silence, the rustle of paper, thequick spurt of a match, and then the uplifting of a flickering flame.But it revealed only the heads and shoulders of three horsemen, framedwithin a nebulous ring of light, that still left their horses and eventheir lower figures in impenetrable shadow. Then the flame leaped upand died out with a few zigzagging sparks that were falling to theground, when a third voice, that was low but somewhat pleasant in itscadence, said:—
"Be careful where you throw that. You were careless last time. Withthis wind and the leaves like tinder, you might send a furnace blastthrough the woods."
"Then at least we'd see where we were."
Nevertheless, he moved his horse, whose trampling hoofs beat out thelast fallen spark. Complete darkness and silence again followed.Presently the first speaker continued:—
"I reckon we'll have to wait here till the next squall clears away thescud from the sky? Hello! What's that?"
Out of the obscurity before them appeared a faint light,—a dim butperfectly defined square of radiance,—which, however, did not appearto illuminate anything around it. Suddenly it disappeared.
"That's a house—it's a light in a window," said the second voice.
"House be d—d!" retorted the first speaker. "A house with a window onGalloper's Ridge, fifteen miles from anywhere? You're crazy!"
Nevertheless, from the muffled plunging and tinkling that followed,they seemed to be moving in the direction where the light had appeared.Then there was a pause.
"There's nothing but a rocky outcrop here, where a house couldn'tstand, and we're off the trail again," said the first speakerimpatiently.
"Stop!—there it is again!"
The same square of light appeared onc