"There is no fear of his doing any running now. Just come and sit down
by this wall, my lad, and remember if you make the slightest sound I
will run my sword through your body."
The lad shuffled to the wall and sat down. Ralph released his grasp of
the girl.
"This is a regular young wildcat, Desmond. She very nearly got my hand
in her mouth, and if she had she would have bitten a piece out. Well,
I shouldn't think there will be any more of them."
"No, I should think not. They would scarcely send off more than two
messengers. However, we must still keep a sharp lookout."
But no one else came along, and in a quarter of an hour they heard the
deep tramp of a body of men approaching, and Captain O'Connor soon
came up at the head of the company.
"Well, any news, gentlemen?" he asked as the two young officers
stepped out.
"Yes, Captain O'Connor. We have two prisoners--a girl and a boy. They
came along about ten minutes apart, both running at full speed and
evidently going with messages. We put the handcuffs on the boy's
ankles, and tied the girl's with our handkerchiefs."
"Sergeant, tell off two men and let them take these prisoners back to
the village, and guard them carefully till we return. They may as well
keep the handcuffs on the boy's ankles, and untie the girl's; but let
one of them keep a tight hold of her arm, and be sure that she doesn't
slip away.
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