"We've got to get
her out. All else comes after."
"Good," said Michael thickly. "Good..... Will you hold her while I
fetch the rope?" The other nodded.
Once inside, Michael slung the long, heavy coil across his neck and
shoulder, then reemerged into the still, expectant air. The time had
come.
He bowed his head in silence, but no words of prayer would come to
him. Instead he took a deep breath, and opened his eyes to the task
that lay ahead. He nodded tersely to his companion. Then began to
descend, with Stephen leading the animal behind.
Upon reaching the branching of ways, it was agreed that neither would
ride until they came down from the rough mountain paths, onto
smoother, more tractable ground. They walked, as distance and Night
closed around them.
* * *
"What is it, Anne? What's wrong?"
"I don't know, Mary. A premonition. . .something." She stood up and
shook herself against the cold, but the feeling remained.
At first she thought to keep it to herself, out of habit, and to
protect the girl. But they had grown so close these long, empty days
in the cell, with little to eat and only the shelter of each other's
bodies to keep them from despair.
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