His first impulse had been to seek his wife, regardless of discovery or
consequences, at Hymettus, where she had said she was going. It was on
his way to the rendezvous at Marshall's claim. But this he as instantly
set aside, it was his SON he must find; SHE might not confess, or might
deceive him--the boy would not; and if his fears were correct, she could
be arraigned afterwards. It was possible for him to reach the little
Mission church and school, secluded in a remote valley by the old
Franciscan fathers, where he had placed the boy for the last few years
unknown to his wife. It would be a long ride, but he could still reach
Heavy Tree Hill afterwards before Marshall and the expert arrived. And
he had a feeling he had never felt before on the eve of a desperate
adventure,--that he must see the boy first. He remembered how the child
had often accompanied him in his flight, and how he had gained strength,
and, it seemed to him, a kind of luck, from the touch of that small hand
in his. Surely it was necessary now that at least his mind should be at
rest regarding HIM on the eve of an affair of this moment. Perhaps he
might never see him again. At any other time, and under the influence of
any other emotion, he would have scorned such a sentimentalism--he who
had never troubled himself either with preparation for the future or
consideration for the past.
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