up the hill. A sudden idea seized him. Perhaps THEY were the spies in
question. He remembered the driver's story. A sudden flash of intuition
made him now understand the singular way the file of coolies which
they met had diverted their course after passing the wagon. They had
recognized the deputy on the box. Stay!--there was another Chinaman in
the coach; HE might have given them the signal. He glanced hurriedly
around the room for him; he was gone. Perhaps he had already joined the
file he had just seen. His only hope was to follow them--but how? and
how to do it quietly? The afternoon was waning; it would be three or
four hours before the down coach would arrive, from which the driver
expected assistance. Now, if ever, was his opportunity.
He made his way through the back door, and found himself among the straw
and chips of the stable-yard and woodshed. Still uncertain what to do,
he mechanically passed before the long shed which served as temporary
stalls for the steaming wagon horses. At the further end, to his
surprise, was a tethered mustang ready saddled and bridled--the
opportune horse left for the fugitive, according to the lounger's story.
Masterton cast a quick glance around the stable; it was deserted by all
save the feeding animals.
He was new to adventures of this kind, or he would probably have weighed
the possibilities and consequences. He was ordinarily a thoughtful,
reflective man, but like most men of intellect, he was also imaginative
and superstitious, and this crowning accident of the providential
situation in which he found himself was superior to his logic. There
would also be a grim irony in his taking this horse for such a purpose.
He again looked and listened. There was no one within sight or hearing.
He untied the rope from the bit-ring, leaped into the saddle, and
emerged cautiously from the shed. The wet snow muffled the sound of the
horse's hoofs. Moving round to the rear of the stable so as to bring it
between himself and the station, he clapped his heels into the mustang's
flanks and dashed into the open.
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