Presently he caught a glimpse of the fugitive in the distance, heard the half-angry, half-ironical shouts of the crowd at the back door, and as he reached the hilltop saw, with a mingling of satisfaction and perplexity, Mrs. Barker on the other road, still driving frantically in the direction of the railroad station. At which Mr. Hamlin halted, threw away his encumbering saddle, and, good rider that he was, remounted the horse, barebacked but for his blanket-pad, and thrusting his knees in the loose girths, again dashed forwards,--with such good results that, as Van Loo galloped up to the stagecoach office, at the next station, and was about to enter the waiting coach for Marysville, the soft hand of Mr. Hamlin was laid on his shoulder.
"I told you," said Jack blandly, "that I had plenty of time. I would have been here BEFORE and even overtaken you, only you had the better horse and the only saddle."
Van Loo recoiled. But he was now desperate and reckless.
Beckoning Jack out of earshot of the other passengers, he said with tightened lips, "Why do you follow me? What is your purpose in coming here?"
"I thought," said Hamlin dryly, "that I was to have the pleasure of getting satisfaction from you for the insult you gave me."
"Well, and if I apologize for it, what then?" he said quickly.
Hamlin looked at him quietly. "Well, I think I also said something about the lady being the wife of a friend of mine."
"And I have left her BEHIND. Her husband can take her back without disgrace, for no one knows of her flight but you and me. Do you think your shooting me will save her? It will spread the scandal far and wide. For I warn you, that as I have apologized for what you choose to call my personal insult, unless you murder me in cold blood without witness, I shall let them know the REASON of your quarrel. And I can tell you more: if you only succeed in STOPPING me here, and make me lose my chance of getting away, the scandal to your friend will be greater still."
Mr. Hamlin looked at Van Loo curiously. There was a certain amount of conviction in what he said. He had never met this kind of creature before. He had surpassed even Hamlin's first intuition of his character. He amused and interested him. But Mr. Hamlin was also a man of the world, and knew that Van Loo's reasoning might be good. He put his hands in his pockets, and said gravely, "What IS your little game?"
Van Loo had been seized with another inspiration of desperation.
Steptoe had been partly responsible for this situation. Van Loo knew that Jack and Steptoe were not friends. He had certain secrets of Steptoe's that might be of importance to Jack. Why should he not try to make friends with this powerful free-lance and half-outlaw?
"It's a game," he said significantly, "that might be of interest to your friends to hear."
Hamlin took his hands out of his pockets, turned on his heel, and said, "Come with me."
"But I must go by that coach now," said Van Loo desperately, "or--
I've told you what would happen."
"Come with me," said Jack coolly. "If I'm satisfied with what you tell me, I'll put you down at the next station an hour before that coach gets there."
"You swear it?" said Van Loo hesitatingly.
"I've SAID it," returned Jack. "Come!" and Van Loo followed Mr.
Hamlin into the station hotel.
