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Mattherithed inwardly, knowing he could never put his hand on a Bible and tell a lie To e shot white beyond the shutters and thunder blasted overhead He kept his face down, staring at a scuffed spot on the table

Greathouse scratched the stubble on his chin, but ed, his eyes ashine and his broitching "Make theers He cast his gaze in the direction of Slaughter&039;s voice but said nothing for a space of tiht he&039;d rather be in the long dark tunnel than this candlelit room at last the reverend said, "Obviously you feel yourself to be at the mercy of these two aini I do not approve of any of this Gentlereed and do what is right for the coood That is, deliver the prisoner to the proper authorities in New York The reward for that is the knowledge that you have done a righteous thing for your fellow hter hissed "Their hands on the book!"

"I will not," ca of limitedof infiniteI can say is, do not let greed lead you into the valley of destruction Take this ed and be done with him Ree of life Should you not try to do the saorously "Mercy Listen to the reverend, gentlemen He talks a peach, doesn&039;t hei"

"I think," Greathouse said, "that it&039;s tio back on"

Burdened by the hter sank down to the floor with his back against the wall He closed his eyes as Jarowled in his direction Outside, the rain continued to fall steadily Matthew noted that water was dripping from several places in the roof, and Tom put pots around to catch what he could More as added to the fire Reverend Burton asked Greathouse to bring the Bible over to the table and read to him from the Book of First Timothy, which Greathouse did without noticeable co the bowls and utensils with ashes, and Matthew silently helped hiht a small box from the bookcase and opened it in front of Matthew "You playi" he asked, showing two sets of crudely-carved but useful chess pieces, one in dark wood and the other a few shades lighter Matthew nodded, both surprised and grateful to find one of his greatest pleasures out in these forsaken woods Tom fetched a battered chessboard from the cupboard at the back of the room, and he and Matthew sat down in the chairs before the fire, set the board and pieces up on the same Mattheith ease The second was not so easy, and it appeared to Matthew that Tom was a quick student, for before this contest was over Matthew had lost his queen, his defense of his king was in jeopardy and To mayhe over when it was certain there was no escape

During the third game, Matthew noticed how To that lay nestled against his foot Clearly, they had a strong connection between them, and at one point Tom picked Ja the dog&039;s back while Matthew puzzled over a potential h not to be heard by Greathouse, as still involved in reading First Tihter, who snored on the floor

Matthe To stalked by two rooks "No," he answered, just as quietly

"Gonna kill him, theni"

"No"

Tom waited for Matthew to ht to"

The third game ended in another win for Matthew, but not before the soldiers all across the rank and file had been deci, Reverend Burton nodded his approval, Jaot down off his master&039;s lap and curled himself up on the little bed of straw, and Matthew reached into his waistcoat pocket and brought out a s pouch he&039;d purchased to keep his silver watch, a gift froarded him with interest as he opened the pouch and checked the tiht o&039;clock

"Wake up" Greathouse took his cap and coat froentle kick in that favorite fare of cannibals, the buttock "It&039;s tiet to sleep"

Burton lit another candle and put it into a punched-tin lantern for thee of the lantern, and with Slaughter between theht to their host and went out into the rainy dark, bound for awhich neither captor slept worth a Dutch penny but their prisoner sluht, the rain had turned to a nasty drizzle and gray clouds seeed froet the horses harnessed Slaughter allowed hion, where he lay down in the posture of a silent observer Greathouse had retrieved his cloak and wrung it out, and now he put it around his shoulders, wet cloak against wet coat against wet shirt He climbed up onto his seat and took the reins, while Matthew sat facing backwards again so as to keep guard over the prisoner But, in truth, Slaughter appeared to be no menace today; his eyes were swollen froe his jaws

"Good luck to you!" To up the steps to rejoin Reverend Burton in the cabin, and Ja that lay close upon the ground Just past two more abandoned cabins, the hter had foretold The forest thickened again on either side Rain dripped from the trees, and the birds were quiet The as still, which was a blessing since all three travelers were soaked and already chilled Further on, another track split off to the left at a more southerly course, which Matthew presumed must be the route to Belvedere Greathouse kept to the path they were on, which ht be teron&039;s wheels were freighted with black an to take a perceptible degree of ascent

"This is a damnable track," Greathouse said sourly, as if Mattheere to blaht I ask what you&039;ll spend your money oni"

Neither Matthew nor Greathouse were in any hter adjusted his chains, sat up as best he coulddrizzle "I&039; to buy myself a shave and a proper bath, first off Then a new suit So very respectable," he said "a new hat, too Somewhat like yours, Matthew I like that style Then on to buy e Get myself out of here as soon as I&039;entleht mind would want all this, this emptinessi Tell me, Mr Greathouse, don&039;t youI&039;aol for another No, I shall s Then, I think I shall go to Europe any country where there&039;s not a war, asdays are behindwater "I shall endeavor to find a country," he went on, "where I hter, or Marquis de Slaughter It can be done, I have no doubt In this day and age, with money as it is, it doesn&039;t pay to be a commoner"

The horses pulled onward and upward, as the road continued to ascend There was no abatement of the steady rain, which dripped from Matthew&039;s tricorn and ran down Greathouse&039;s face froy cap Matthew felt sure at least two miles had passed since they&039;d started their uphill clion&039;s wheels alternately see to kill hter&039;s face The prisoner stared ihtly to one side

"I would," Slaughter said, before Matthew could foret theave a thin smile "Really What&039;s five pounds, when you&039;re looking at fifty or morei and me, I&039;m just a what did you call me, Mr Greathousei Oh yes a co to kill you," Matthew replied

"But you&039;re not going to letto do as you promised I can tell Yes, I see it in your eyes, Matthew So, if you don&039;t letto explain to your keepers about the moneyi I mean, e reach New York I otten hold of my treasure, for what reason should I noti and then they&039;re going to want a piece of it, aren&039;t theyi a sizeable piece, I would think Yes, I know about greed, all right"

"Shut up," Greathouse said over his shoulder They were co to what appeared to be, thankfully, the top of this rather steep incline

"I think it&039;s a problehter continued, undaunted "and forto split the money with men who dared not even dirty their breeches to co all the work, for a entleain I want you to put the barrel of that pistol in histo do that I do know pistols, sir, as well as I know razors What if it went off and blew the brains out the back of hter, but not a penny for Greathouse and Corbett No, the reasonable thing to do, sir, is to assure o after I show you to the safebox, and then if you&039;re not a liar, young o onon silk pillows in Europe"

"Just do all us a favor, and keep your damnednoise, for they&039;d crested the hill and there before theht On the left was a dropoff that fell into a forested gorge isps of fog at its botto over the wagon&039;s side "I did forget about this dangerous descent"

Greathouse held steady on the reins, which was unnecessary because the horses locked their legs up and one of the beasts gave a treo down there

They sat in the rain, saying nothing Greathouse&039;s shoulders were hunched forward, water dripping froun he held protectively beneath his sopping-wet cloak Slaughter gave a long, low sigh and at last said, "Fort Laurens is a little more than a mile from here What&039;s your pleasure, sirsi"

When Greathouse&039;s voice ca "Giddup," he said, and flicked the reins The horses didn&039;t ain, with some temper behind it this ti with it the anion rolled forward, as rivulets of mud coursed down before them

"Keep an eye to that dropoff," Greathouse told Matthehich was breath wasted because Mattheas alreadythe distance betheel and disaster The horses&039; hooves were plowing into the on slipsliding to the side sinister If Greathouse couldn&039;t get thee over the eht hide bones for a hundred years

They&039;d descended about another sixty yards when it was apparent the road, tortured by ti narrower "It&039;s close over here," Matthew said "Two feet at the most" With a start, he realized he&039;d not directed his attention to Slaughter for severalup with a burst of speed and strength and heaving him over to his death; when he looked at the prisoner, however, Slaughter had not ainst the drizzle

They kept going down, through the slippery e of the road continue to constrict, where previous rainstore sections of the earth away The horses nickered and jerked their heads, and Greathouse glanced to the left to see for hi off the edge It was less than ten inches, too tight for his comfort, and in another hter&039;s eyes opened

Greathouse set the brake He turned around, wiped the water froloo to doi" Matthew asked

"I don&039;t like this damned road I don&039;t want to take the tea" He looked back the way they&039;d co to be one devil of a job backing this wagon up"

"I repeat my question"

"I heard you the first tilance at hi we can do, if we&039;re intending to get to that fort, is to walk"