They set out to go nowhither--to tramp on
and on. Is it any wonder--does it imply wickedness beyond that lack of
trust in God which is at the root of all wickedness, if the thought of
ending their troubles by death crossed his mind, and from very
tenderness kept returning? At the last gasp, as it seemed, in the close
and ever closer siege of misfortune, he was almost ready, like the Jews
of Masada, to conquer by self-destruction. But ever and again the sad
eyes of his wife turned him from the thought, and he would plod on,
thinking, as near as possible, about nothing.
At length as they wandered they came to a part where seemed to be only
small houses and mews. Presently they found themselves in a little lane
with no thoroughfare, at the back of some stables, and had to return
along the rough-paved, neglected way. Such was the quiet and apparent
seclusion of the spot, that it struck Franks they had better find its
most sheltered corner, in which to sit down and rest awhile, possibly
sleep. Scarcely would policeman, he thought, enter such a forsaken
place! The same moment they heard the measured tread of the enemy on the
other side of the stables.
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