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floundering in drifts. The sun soon left them; the glow of the west
decayed; and presently they were wandering in a shadow of blackness,
under frosty stars.
Presently, indeed, the moon would clear the hilltops, and they might
resume their march. But till then, every random step might carry them
wider of their march. There was nothing for it but to camp and wait.
Sentries were posted; a spot of ground was cleared of snow, and, after
some failures, a good fire blazed in the midst. The men-at-arms sat
close about this forest hearth, sharing such provisions as they had, and
passing about the flask; and Dick, having collected the most delicate of
the rough and scanty fare, brought it to Lord Risingham's niece, where
she sat apart from the soldiery against a tree.
She sat upon one horse-cloth, wrapped in another, and stared straight
before her at the firelit scene. At the offer of food she started, like
one wakened from a dream, and then silently refused.
"Madam," said Dick, "let me beseech you, punish me not so cruelly.
Wherein I have offended you, I know not; I have, indeed, carried you
away, but with a friendly violence; I have, indeed, exposed you to the
inclemency of night, but the hurry that lies upon me hath for its end the
preservation of another, who is no less frail and no less unfriended than
yourself. At least, madam, punish not yourself; and eat, if not for
hunger, then for strength."
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