| Look before the snow blots it all out!" I took it... 984 |
[Jan. 29th, 2010|07:24 am] |
Look before the snow blots it all out!" I took it and lookedThe two men might be DrI knew at all events that neither of them was JonathanAt the same time I knew that Jonathan was not far offLooking around I saw on the north side of the coming party two other men, riding at breakneck speedOne of them I knew was Jonathan, and the other I took, of course, to be Lord GodalmingThey too, were pursuing the party with the cartWhen I told the Professor he shouted in glee like a schoolboy, and after looking intently till a snow fall made sight impossible, he laid his Winchester rifle ready for use against the boulder at the opening of our shelter
"They are all converging," he said"When the time comes we shall have gypsies on all sides I got out my revolver ready to hand, for whilst we were speaking the howling of wolves came louder and closerWhen the snow storm abated a moment we looked againIt was strange to see the snow falling in such heavy flakes close to us, and beyond, the sun shining more and more brightly as it sank down towards the far mountain topsSweeping the glass all around us I could see here and there dots moving singly and in twos and threes and larger numbersThe wolves were gathering for their prey
Every instant seemed an age whilst we waitedThe wind came now in fierce bursts, and the snow was driven with fury as it swept upon us in circling eddiesAt times we could not see an arm's length before usBut at others, as the hollow sounding wind swept by us, it seemed to clear the air space around us so that we could see afar offWe had of late been so accustomed to watch for sunrise and sunset, that we knew with fair accuracy when it would beAnd we knew that before long the sun would setIt was hard to believe that by our watches it was less than an hour that we waited in that rocky shelter before the various bodies began to converge close upon usThe wind came now with fiercer and more bitter sweeps, and more steadily from the northIt seemingly had driven the snow clouds from us, for with only occasional bursts, the snow fellWe could distinguish clearly the individuals of each party, the pursued and the pursuersStrangely enough those pursued did not seem to realize, or at least to care, that they were pursuedThey seemed, however, to hasten with redoubled speed as the sun dropped lower and lower on the mountain tops
Closer and closer they drewThe Professor and I crouched down behind our rock, and held our weapons readyI could see that he was determined that they should not passOne and all were quite unaware of our presence
All at once two voices shouted out to "Halt!" One was my Jonathan's, raised in a high key of passionMorris' strong resolute tone of quiet commandThe gypsies may not have known the language, but there was no mistaking the tone, in whatever tongue the words were spokenInstinctively they reined in, and at the instant Lord Godalming and Jonathan dashed up at one side and DrThe leader of the gypsies, a splendid looking fellow who sat his horse like a centaur, waved them back, and in a fierce voice gave to his companions some word to proceedThey lashed the horses which sprang forwardBut the four men raised their Winchester rifles, and in an unmistakable way commanded them to stopAt the same moment DrVan Helsing and I rose behind the rock and pointed our weapons at |
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