"
"He never got there at all," said Barker. "Jack ran slap into Van Loo at
the Divide, and sent a dispatch to Jim, which stopped him halfway until
Jack could reach him, which he nearly broke his neck to do; and then
Jack finished up by bringing a message from Stacy to us that we should
all meet together on the slope of Heavy Tree, near the Bar. I met Jack
just as I was riding into the Divide, and came back with him. He will
tell you the rest, and you can swear by what Jack says, for he's white
all through," he added, laying his hand affectionately on Hamlin's
shoulder.
Hamlin winced slightly. For he had NOT told Barker that his wife was
with Van Loo, nor his first reason for interfering. But he related how
he had finally overtaken Van Loo at Canyon Station, and how the fugitive
had disclosed the conspiracy of Steptoe and Hall against the bank and
Marshall as the price of his own release. On this news, remembering that
Stacy had passed the Divide on his way to the station, he had first sent
a dispatch to him, and then met him at the first station on the road.
"I reckon, gentlemen," said Hamlin, with an unusual earnestness in his
voice, "that he'd not only got my telegram, but ALL THE NEWS that had
been flying around this morning, for he looked like a man to whom it
was just a 'toss-up' whether he took his own life then and there or was
willing to have somebody else take it for him, for he said, 'I'll go
myself,' and telegraphed to have the surveyor stopped from coming.
Pages:
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243