"Get into the chaise, Mr. Fairfax," said Colonel Preston.  
"Thank you," said the adventurer, and accepted the invitation.
 
"Now we are off," said the colonel, as he took the reins, and touched the horse lightly with the whip.
 
"Is the road a pleasant one?" inquired Fairfax.
 
"The latter part is rather lonely. For a mile it runs through the woods—still, on a summer day, that is rather pleasant than otherwise. In the evening, it is not so agreeable."
 
"No, I suppose not," said Fairfax, rather absently.
 
Colonel Preston would have been startled could he have read the thoughts that were passing through the mind of his companion. Could he have known his sinister designs, he would scarcely have sat at his side, chatting so easily and indifferently.
 
"I will postpone my plan till we get to that part of the road he speaks of," thought Fairfax. "It would not do for me to be interrupted."
 
"I suppose it is quite safe traveling anywhere on the road," remarked the adventurer.
 
"Oh, yes," said Colonel Preston, with a laugh. "Thieves and highway robbers do not pay us the compliment of visiting our neighborhood. They keep in the large cities, or in places that will better reward their efforts."
 
"Precisely," said Fairfax; "I am glad to hear it, for I carry a considerable amount of money about me."
 
"So do I, to-day. This is the day for payment of mill dividends, and as I have occasion to use the money, I did not deposit it."
 
"Good," said Fairfax, to himself. "That is what I wanted to find out."
 
Aloud he said:
 
"Oh, well, there are two of us, so it would be a bold highwayman that would venture to attack us. Do you carry a pistol?"
 
"Not I," said Colonel Preston. "I don't like the idea of carrying firearms about with me. They might go off by mistake. I was reading in a daily paper, recently, of a case where a man accidentally shot his son with the pistol he was in the habit of carrying about with him."
 
"There is that disadvantage, to be sure," said Fairfax. "So, he has no pistol. He is quite in my power," he said to himself. "It's a good thing to know."
 
"By the way," he asked, merely to keep up the conversation, "are you a family man, Colonel Preston?"
 
"Yes, sir; I have a wife, and a son of fifteen."
 
"You have the advantage of me in that respect. I have always been devoted to business, and have had no time for matrimony."
 
"Time enough yet, Mr. Fairfax."
 
"Oh, yes, I suppose so."
 
"If you are going to settle down in our neighborhood, I can introduce you to some of our marriageable young ladies," said Colonel Preston, pleasantly.
 
"Thank you," said Fairfax; in the same tone. "I may avail myself of your offer."
 
"Won't you take supper at my home this evening?" said the colonel, hospitably. "I shall be glad to introduce Mrs. Preston. My son is at boarding school, so I shall not be able to let you see him."
 
"Have you but one child, then?"
 
"But one. His absence leaves us alone."
 
Godfrey's absence would have been lamented more by his father, had his character and disposition been different. But he was so arrogant and overbearing in his manners, and so selfish, that his father hoped that association with other boys would cure him in part of these objectionable traits. At home, he was so much indulged by his mother, who could see no fault in him, as long as he did not oppose her, that there was little chance of amendment.
 
So they rode on, conversing on various topics, but their conversation was not of sufficient importance for me to report. At length they entered on a portion of the road lined on either side by a natural forest. Fairfax looked about him.
 
"I suppose, Colonel Preston, these are the woods you referred to?"
 
"Yes, sir."
 
"How far do they extend?"
 
"About a mile."
 
They had traversed about half a mile, when Fairfax said:
 
"If you ............