on of the town.

"Ah, a message is coming!" he cried, a vast rising relief driving the
words from him.

"Is dat you, Mr. Trott?" The cabman was reining his horse in at the
gate.

"Yes. What is it?" John went out to the cab and stood breathlessly
waiting for the negro to speak.

"Why, yo' wife tol' me ter tell you, sir, dat--but, bless me if I wasn't
so rattled dat I hardly remember what it was she said."

"My wife, my wife, what about her?"

"Why, I done fetch 'er father here, sir, dis morning," the man went on
in stammering tones. "He was rampagin' up 'n' down de Square, askin'
whar you was. He had a gun an' was out er his head. Dar wasn't no
policeman about, en' nobody else knowed how ter handle him. He sure was
dangerous! Seems like he done hear about--well, you know--about yo' ma,
an' Miss Jane Holder, an'--an' de high jinks over dar night after night,
an' fines, drinks, poker an' all dat. He didn't talk to me, sir, but
some of de white folks dat he saw in de stores said he claimed dat you
abdicated his young daughter 'fo' she was old enough ter decide fer
herself. I didn't want ter fetch 'im here, for blood was in his eyes,
but I was afraid not to, wid him settin' behind me wid dat gun in his
pocket, so I driv' him over, knowin' you was out in der country at work
an' safe fer a while, anyway."

"But my wife--my wife?" John all but pleaded. "What about her?"

"I don't know 'cept she tuck 'im inside an' sorter quieted 'im down and
tol' 'im she wanted to go home ter her ma. Some a de white folks up-town
say she didn't know what she was gettin' her foot into down here nohow,
an', now she found out, she was glad ernough to get away. One an' all
say she is plumb decent herself, just er plain country girl wid good
up-bringin'. Some of 'em is b'ilin' mad at you an' yo' boss."

John stifled a rising groan. "Damn you," he said, "cut all that out and
tell me if my wife left any message for me."

"Yes, sir, she did--now I remember, but she had ter give it ter me on de
sly, an' I didn't git all of it. She said tell you she had ter go--dat
she had stood it as long as she could, an'--oh yes, she said fer you not
ter dare ter show yo'se'f up dar at 'er ol' home."

"And have they left town?" John asked, with strange calmness.

"Oh yes, sir! Dey tuck de twelve-ten train."

"That will do." John motioned for him to go. "I understand."

The negro turned his horse around and started back to town. John stood
stock-still,