cket, as if to assure himself that he had not
been robbed by sleight-of-hand during the interview, and then started
on the road leading to the Hillside. Chamberlain said "Good day, sir,"
without expecting or getting an answer, and turned down the hill toward
the village.

As soon as he had dropped from sight, however, he walked casually into
the thick bushes that lined the road, and from this ambush he took a
careful survey of the hill behind him. Then he slowly and cautiously
made his way back through the underbrush until he was again in sight of
the cross-roads. Here, concealed behind a tree, he waited patiently
some five or ten minutes. At the end of that time, Chamberlain's mild
and kindly face lighted up with unholy joy. He opened his mouth and
emitted a soundless "haw-haw."

For there was his recent companion also returning to the cross-roads,
taking a discreet look in the direction of the village as he came
along. Seeing that the coast was clear, he turned and went rapidly up
the road that led over the hill to the old red house.

When Chamberlain saw that the man was well on his way he stepped into
the road and solemnly danced three steps of a hornpipe, and the next
instant started on a run toward the village. He got little Simon's
horse and buggy, drove into the upper street and picked up the sheriff,
and then trotted at a good rattling pace around by the long road toward
Ilion.

CHAPTER XX

MONSIEUR CHATELARD TAKES THE WHEEL

Sallie Kingsbury would have given up the ghost without more ado, had
she known what secular and unministerial passions were converging about
Parson Thayer's peaceful library. As it was, she had a distinct
feeling that life wasn't as simple as it had been heretofore, and that
there were puzzling problems to solve. She was almost certain that she
had caught Mr. Hand using an oath; though when she charged him with it,
he had said that he had been talking Spanish to himself--he always did
when he was alone. Sallie didn't exactly know the answer to that, but
told him that she hoped he would remember that she was a professor.
"What's that?" inquired Hand.

"It's a Christian in good and regular standing, and it's what you ought
to be," said Sallie.

And now that nice Mr. Chamberlain, whom she had fed in the early
morning, had dashed up to the kitchen door behind Little Simon's best
horse, deposited a man from Charlesport, and then had disappeared. The
man had also unce