She gazed at me for a moment with a face from which every trace of expression had vanished, except that of the most devilish fury and spite—the face of an evil spirit more than of a woman; and then she walked slowly away. I couldn’t help pitying her, though I cursed my own folly. as I had done a thousand times, that I had ever turned my head or spoken a word to her when first she crossed my path. I got into the streets somehow; I hardly knew what to think or to do. That danger was close at our heels. What was going to happen? Was I the same Dick Marston that had been strolling up Main Street a couple of hours ago? All but off by the to-morrow evening’s coach, and with all the world before me, a good round sum in the bank; best part of a year’s hard, honest work it was the price of, too.

Then all kinds of thoughts came into my head. Would Kate, when her burst of rage was over, go in for revenge in cold blood? She could hardly strike me without at the same time hurting Jeanie through Jim. Should I trust her? Would she come right, kiss, and make friends, and call herself a madwoman—a reckless fool—as she’d often done before? No; she was in bitter earnest this time. It did not pay to be slack in making off. Once we had been caught napping, and once was enough.

The first thing to do was to warn Jim—poor old Jim, snoring away, most like, and dreaming of taking the box-seat for himself and Jeanie at the agent’s next morning. It seemed cruel to wake him, but it would have been crueller not to do so.

I walked up the narrow track that led up to the little gully with the moon shining down upon the white quartz roek. The pathway wound through a “blow” of it. I threw a pebble at the door and waited till Jim came out.

“Who’s there? Oh, it’s you, old man, is it? It’s rather late for a call; but if you’ve come to spend the evening I’ll get up, and we’ll have a smoke, anyhow.”

“You dress yourself, Jim,” I said, “as quick as you can. Put on your hat and come with me; there’s something up.”

“My God!” says Jim,“what is it? I’m a rank coward now I’ve got Jeanie. Don’t go and tell me we’ve got to cut and run again.”

“Something like it,” I said. “If it hasn’t come to that yet, it’s not far off.”

We walked up the gully together. Jim lit his pipe while I told him shortly what had happened to me with Kate.