Picture Dictionary & Books : Free for English Learner!

A boulder of granite concealed our approach, and crouching behind it we gazed over it at the signal light.

It was strange to see this single candle burning there in the middle of the moor, with no sign of life near it-just the one straight yellow flame and the gleam of the rock on each side of it.

"What shall we do now?" whispered Sir Henry.

"Wait here. He must be near his light. Let us see if we can get a glimpse of him."

The words were hardly out of my mouth when we both saw him.

Over the rocks, in the crevice of which the candle burned, there was thrust out an evil yellow face, a terrible animal face, all seamed and scored with vile passions.

Foul with mire, with a bristling beard, and hung with matted hair, it might well have belonged to one of those old savages who dwelt in the burrows on the hillsides.

The light beneath him was reflected in his small, cunning eyes which peered fiercely to right and left through the darkness like a crafty and savage animal who has heard the steps of the hunters.

Something had evidently aroused his suspicions.

It may have been that Barrymore had some private signal which we had neglected to give, or the fellow may have had some other reason for thinking that all was not well, but I could read his fears upon his wicked face.

Any instant he might dash out the light and vanish in the darkness.

I sprang forward therefore, and Sir Henry did the same.

At the same moment the convict screamed out a curse at us and hurled a rock which splintered up against the boulder which had sheltered us.

I caught one glimpse of his short, squat, strongly built figure as he sprang to his feet and turned to run.

At the same moment by a lucky chance the moon broke through the clouds.

We rushed over the brow of the hill, and there was our man running with great speed down the other side, springing over the stones in his way with the activity of a mountain goat.

A lucky long shot of my revolver might have crippled him, but I had brought it only to defend myself if attacked and not to shoot an unarmed man who was running away.

We were both swift runners and in fairly good training, but we soon found that we had no chance of overtaking him.

We saw him for a long time in the moonlight until he was only a small speck moving swiftly among the boulders upon the side of a distant hill.

We ran and ran until we were completely blown, but the space between us grew ever wider.

Finally we stopped and sat panting on two rocks, while we watched him disappearing in the distance.

And it was at this moment that there occurred a most strange and unexpected thing.

We had risen from our rocks and were turning to go home, having abandoned the hopeless chase.

The moon was low upon the right, and the jagged pinnacle of a granite tor stood up against the lower curve of its silver disc.

There, outlined as black as an ebony statue on that shining background, I saw the figure of a man upon the tor.

Table of Contents