41
Peering down from the hayloft, Richard’s dad watched as the two strangers were bundled into the back of the carriage. He didn’t move, knowing that if he gave away his hiding place, death would swiftly follow. And what could he do anyway? That thought which brought only a modicum of comfort to his guilty feeling. He saw their terror, their confusion, especially the taller of the two who seemed in a daze. A scuffle broke out, the shorter one hit, then bundled unceremoniously into the carriage. The horses broke into a trot, and soon the farmyard became deathly silent once more.
“Who was it, Dad?”
Stirling turned to his son and offered only shrug. “I don’t know, but from the way they were dressed they weren’t from the village, that’s for sure. Whatever’s happening, they’ve managed to sli
