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“Scott!” she called out, trying to stop him It would be so much better if they approached from stealth

He apparently did not hear her—not, she thought, that he would have stopped to listen Shots blasting on the open road made her heart quake Only one reason she could think of for this: highwaymen!

She and Scott had often been told by his father, the squire, that theseabout in the dark, attacking women and invalids on

the king’s roads

It was Scott’s father’s opinion that every last one needed to be put to the dust

Felicia arrived to find that Scott had charged onto the scene where high tobys were in the ht a coach and four ill-matched horses to a standstill, and their horse pistols were held high and threateningly

The driver of the vehicle had his hands up and was reciting in frightened accents that he was not armed

One of the highwayentleround in a drunken stupor, which caused the four highwaymen to roar with mirth

Scott raced his horse forward and deuards I am armed!”

One toby turned and let off a shot, appeared surprised when it hit its mark He called to his men to hurry it up and put away the jewels and the ready

A ht

The driver of the coach picked up his employer, stuffed him back into the coach, and climbed up into his seat Felicia rushed her horse forward Scott was lying sprawled and unconscious on the ground, and even as her horse was still slowing to a walk, she nimbly jumped off and raced to his side

With a shock she heard the driver start his team off, and she looked up to call after him, “Stop, you, we need help!”

“Can’t … have to get sir home … now,” he answered as his coach rolled onward

From what Felicia could see, Scott had taken a shot to the shoulder and had the wind knocked out of him when he had then fallen off his horse