Rider and horse shudder at the same time. The mare shakes her head, and the rider turns around, tenses, and listens again.        Nothing. Only silence, icy like water in a mountain river.        Probably just a branch snapped...        A few careful steps. A thin white hand slips out from the folds of the cloak, adjusts the hood and re-takes the reins, ready to send the animal into a gallop.       A crackling sound in the thickets, this time loud, clear and too close...