Ralph Rexworth stood in the old ruin, looking very perplexed. He could not find Mr. Charlton anywhere. He had whistled, and called, and searched, but not a trace of the hiding man could he discover.  
He felt anxious. What could it mean? Had the hiding-place been discovered, and his chum's unfortunate parent again been taken prisoner? Unless that was the case, he was at a loss to account for the man's absence.
 
"It is no use waiting any longer," he mused, after he had searched the ruin through for the third time. "He has not hurt himself and fallen anywhere in here. He must have been alarmed, and have fled, unless he is taken. Poor old Fred will be horribly worried when I go back and tell him; but there is nothing else for me to do, and I shall be late back, as it is."
 
He sighed. His friend's anxiety for his parent would be something like what he felt for his missing father. It made Ralph think of that again, and of the strange cry which he had heard in that place.[Pg 278] He could not understand that. As he stood there he felt an uncontrollable impulse to penetrate to that lonely house again, to risk meeting the dogs, and to try the effects of his call once more.
 
"I am bound to be late, anyhow," he muttered, "so here goes." And he set off. Perhaps he might meet Charlton's father in the wood.
 
But—he stopped suddenly—what did this mean? There, on the soft ground, were those tracks once more! Lord Elgert's lame mare had been here! Did that mean that Lord Elgert himself had been; or had he lent his trap to the police again, and had they managed to run their victim down?
 
The tracks did not touch the ruin; they began some way from it, and swept round the spinny towards that lonely house. For Ralph to follow them was but child's play. He had hardly to slacken his pace a bit, so plainly the marks were to be seen on the soft, little-trodden earth. They guided him to the spinny—to a little path cut through it, of which he had been ignorant before—right up to the house itself; and there, standing before the open door, was Lord Elgert's trap and the lame mare. It was not to the ruin, but to that mysterious house that the trap had been driven. But why? Ah, how Ralph asked himself that question, and how impossible it was to find an answer to it!
 
Lord Elgert seemed to have hated his father. Lord Elgert was here, and he had heard his father's signal[Pg 279] in this place. Ralph, crouching behind the trees, uttered his old call, and then listened with almost breathless attention.
 
Yes. There—there, muffled but indistinct, the answer came! It came from the house. His father was there, and his father was in Lord Elgert's power!
 
Ralph's first impulse was to dash forward; but he paused. He must be cautious here. He remained hiding, waiting to see if any one had noticed his call, and his prudence was rewarded by seeing Lord Elgert himself come to the door, accompanied by the brutal-looking man whom he had seen before, and glance anxiously round.
 
Then the two seemed to consult; and presently the man went away, to return with a couple of great tawny hounds, both of which he let loose. Ralph's heart stood still. What could he do against those fierce brutes? The man and Lord Elgert went in, and the dogs roamed round. They had not struck his scent yet; but presently they would do so, and then it would be a hard business for him.
 
Ralph was preparing to cautiously creep away, when he heard a shout from the house—a cry for help, and in his father's voice! That put all else out of his head, and he dashed like a deer across the grass and into the open door of that house. His father was there; his father was crying for help, and he would stand by his side!
 
The dogs saw, and raised a deep-voiced bay. He[Pg 280] slammed the door and shut them out, then darted along in the direction of the sounds he had heard.
 
They came from a room on the first floor and he rushed in, and there—there his father struggled in the grasp of Lord Elgert and his fierce companion. Mr. Rexworth had evidently been kept a captive by being bound to the wall by a stout chain; and one of his arms was swathed in dirty bandages, as though he was hurt.
 
Whether his captors wished to bind him still more securely, or whether it was that they sought to convey him somewhere else, Ralph did not know. He saw his father with his back to the wall, brandishing a stool in one hand. He saw the man rush in, dodge the blow, and strike his father down; and then, with a cry of rage, he sprang forward, seizing a heavy stick that lay on the table, and struck wildly at the aggressor. Alas! what could one stripling like he do against two such men? They both turned, and Ralph received a heavy blow upon the temple; and then all was darkness, and he knew nothing more.
 
But when he opened his eyes, where was he? What had happened? Why could he not move?
 
He strove to rise. He felt giddy and sick, and his head ached and throbbed dreadfully. Why he was bound—bound hand and foot, and he was stretched upon the floor!
 
He rolled on his side. His father lay back against[Pg 281] the wall, but his chain was gone. He was only secured with a rope, in the same manner that Ralph was fastened. But his eyes were closed, and his face was very white. A dreadful fear filled the lad's mind—that he had come too late, that his father was really dead now.
 
For a few minutes he lay still, quietly trying the strength of his bonds. He knew that knots hastily tied could frequently be worked loose; but, alas, it was a vain hope in his case! Those who had secured him ha............