A Rogue by Compulsion | Page 4

it would
distract quite a lot of attention from my own humble affairs.
If he was still at liberty, I couldn't help feeling enviously how much

better his chances of escape were than mine. In order to get away from
the Moor it was plainly necessary to possess oneself of both food and
clothes, and I could think of no other way of doing so except stealing
them from some lonely farm. At anything of this sort I was likely to
prove a sorry bungler compared with such an artist as Cairns. He was
one of the most accomplished cracksmen in England, and feats which
seemed impossible to me would probably be the merest child's play to
him.
Still it was no good worrying over what couldn't be helped. My first job
was to get safely into the Walkham woods; after that it would be quite
time enough to think about turning burglar.
I sat up and looked out into the mist. Things were as bad as ever, and
quite suddenly it struck me with considerable force that by lying low in
this fashion I was making a most unholy idiot of myself. Here I was
growing cold and stiff, and wasting what was probably the best chance
I should ever have of reaching Walkhampton. In fact I was playing
right into the hands of the warders.
With an impatient exclamation I jumped to my feet. The only question
was, could I find my way out of the wood, and if I did, how on earth
was I to strike the right line over North Hessary? It was quite on the
cards I might wander back into Princetown under the happy impression
that I was going in exactly the opposite direction.
For a moment I hesitated; then I made up my mind to risk it. After all
the fog was as bad for the warders as it was for me, and even if I failed
to reach the Walkham Valley I should probably find some other equally
good shelter before it lifted. In either case I should have the big
advantage of having changed my hiding-place.
Buttoning up my slop, I advanced carefully through the dripping
brambles. One could see rather less than nothing, but so far as I could
remember the main Tavistock road was on my right-hand side. This
would leave North Hessary away to the left; so turning in that direction
I set my teeth and took my first step forward into the darkness.

I don't suppose you have ever tried walking through a wood in a fog,
but you can take my word for it that a less enjoyable form of exercise
doesn't exist. I have often wondered since how on earth I managed to
escape a sprained ankle or a broken neck, for carefully as I groped my
way forward it was quite impossible to avoid all the numerous crevices
and overhanging boughs which beset my path.
I must have blundered into about fourteen holes and knocked my head
against at least an equal number of branches, before the trees at last
began to thin and the darkness lighten sufficiently to let me see where I
was placing my feet. I knew that by this time I must be getting precious
near the boundary of the wood, outside which the warders were now
doubtless posted at frequent intervals. So I stopped where I was and sat
down quietly on a rock for a few minutes to recover my breath, for I
had been pretty badly shaken and winded by my numerous tumbles.
As soon as I felt better I got up again, and taking very particular care
where I was treading, advanced on tiptoe with a delicacy that Agag
might have envied. I had taken about a dozen steps when all of a
sudden the railings loomed up in front of me through the mist.
I put my hand on the top bar, and then paused for a moment listening
breathlessly for any sound of danger. Except for the faint patter of the
rain, however, everything was as silent as the dead. Very carefully I
raised myself on the bottom rail, lifted my legs over, one after the other,
and then dropped lightly down on to the grass beyond.
As I did so a man rose up suddenly from the ground like a black
shadow, and hurling himself on me before I could move, clutched me
round the waist.
"Got yer!" he roared. Then at the top of his voice--"Here he is! Help!
Help!"
CHAPTER II
A BICYCLE AND SOME OVERALLS

I was taken so utterly by surprise that nothing except sheer strength
saved me from going over. As it was I staggered back a couple of paces,
fetching up against the railings with a bang that nearly