But Beltane shook his head: "I'm fain to see why they laugh," said he, and speaking, stole forward soft-footed amid the shadows; and so presently parting the leaves, looked down into an open dell or dingle full of the light of the rising moon; light that glinted upon the steel caps and hauberks of some score men, who leaned upon pike or gisarm about one who sat upon a fallen treeand Beltane saw that this was Giles the Bowman.

"Day is not yet, my son, nor with the day shalt thou die nor any here, an ye be silent all and follow where we lead, soft-footed, so will we bring you to God's good world again.

But as they hasted on, flitting soft-footed 'neath pallid moon, the jester of a sudden stopped, and turning, dragged Beltane into the shadows, for upon the silence came the sound of mailed feet pacing near.

But now it chanced that the miller, coming also to this door, stood a while sack on shoulder, peering up into the gloom within; thereafter, having set down his burden in stealthy fashion, he also turned and glanced back with eyes that glittered in the shadow of his hat: then, setting one hand within his smock, he went in at the door and, soft-footed began to creep up that dark and narrow stair.

Now great fear came upon Beltane, and he would have uttered desperate prayers, but could not; trembling yet, full gently he drew his arm from under that drooping head, and, stealing soft-footed to the river's marge, stood there staring down at the rippling waters, and his heart was rent with conflicting passionsamazement, fear, anger, joy, and a black despair.

Now as he watched this devilish light, Beltane arose and reaching for his sword went soft-footed to meet it, then paused, for the light was moving towards him.

Donnegan, soft-footed as a shadow among shadows.

Kurt was soft-footed and keen-eyed.

When a slow procession of men, low-voiced and soft-footed, carried Kurt Dorn into the house and up-stairs Lenore trembled with a storm of emotion.

He can go so soft-footed he wouldn't bust eggs, sir, and he can turn loose and run like the wind.

And there it stopped dead, leaving me so sick, my God, so sick, that I could hardly snatch my robes about me to fly, fly, fly, soft-footed, murmuring in pain, down the steps, down like a sneaking thief, but quick, snatching myself away, then wrestling with the cruel catch of the door which she would not let me open, feeling her all the time behind me, watching me.

And daintily it laid itself Where greenest grass was spread, And where the bland and warm south-wind, Soft-footed, loved to tread, And here the white-robed fugitive Made for itself a bed.

" Bedient trailed the soft-footed oriental through the bewildering hall, until he saw Señor Rey standing in a doorwayand behind him a low-lit arcanum of leather and metal....

" The soft-footed butler stood at his elbow, like an actor in comedy suddenly cast for the role of a portentous messenger.

And Jane Bostwick's father he had known as a boya soft-footed, sly-faced velvety sort of a man noted for converting back lots into oil-fields and ash-dumps into mines yielding precious metals.

One might look for such actions from inferior animalsfrom a cat that has killed a bird for instance; for cats are only soft-footed, purring bundles of deceit, with no standard of trail morals.

She came in, soft-footed, almost furtive, she who used to enter so suddenly and unabashed.

Unc' Billy is very soft-footed, oh, very soft-footed indeed, when he wants to be.

You see one must needs be very soft-footed to steal eggs in Farmer Brown's hen-house.

Just as soft-footed as before, he crept along in the darkest shadows, until he was right under the alder tree from which the complaining voice of Sticky-toes the Tree Toad seemed to come.

Then I were put to bed a spell, and soft-footed women waited on me.

If Duke Charles thought he could bring his soft-footed Walloons, used only to the mud roads of Burgundy, up the stony path to the hawk's crag, why, let him try!

He heard her retreating, soft-footed and frightened, along the hall.

The pine-covered slope ahead of us, the thicketed ridge to our left, the dark, widening ravine to our right, all seemed to harbor listening, watching, soft-footed denizens of the wild.

Uncle came gliding in like a soft-footed panther.