That same evening, Moses the governor, and all the rest, with theabove-mentioned exceptions, quitted the castle; and by dawn of thefollowing day, Master Peter's ancient dwelling-house was like a silentsepulchre. All the doors and windows were open, but the drawbridge wasup, and the moat full of water.
The most valuable articles of furniture of a size to be moved, Talaborhad helped GAibor to carry down to a vault opening out of the cellar, inthe course of the night, and together they had walled them up.
As to what had become of Dora and the two men, no one knew but Moses.Some thought that she was still there, and others that she had "left thecountry," as they said in those days, though how she could have crossedthe moat, except by the drawbridge, and how, if she had done so, thedrawbridge could have been pulled up again, was a mystery which nonecould fathom.
Not even Talabor had ever known of the subterranean passage, whichMaster Peter had shown to his daughter and to no one else; and even nowDora did not disclose its whereabouts. Blindfold, her companions wereled through it, she herself guiding Talabor, and he GAibor; and when sheallowed them to take the bandages off their eyes, they were out of sightof the castle, and could see not the slightest sign of any secretentrance. They were in a diminutive valley, with rocks and cliffs allabout them; and here Dora gave GAibor, the horseman, a small purse,which, had she but known it, was likely to be of small assistance in awilderness where no one had anything to sell, but where there wereplenty of people ready to take any money they could get hold of.
Dora told the man to travel only by night, to avoid all the high roads,and to make for Dalmatia, where he had been once before in charge of ahorse which Master Peter was sending to a friend. He remembered the waywell enough, which was one reason why Dora had chosen him for thisdangerous and almost impossible mission.