d it. It said:

"C. escaped about six this evening.
Believed to have gone to his house.
He _suspects_. If you see him, shoot on
sight."

I turned to the man.

"Had Mr. Carr a horse?" I asked.

"No, sir; left on foot."

"But there are horses at his house."

"No, sir, the colonel has borrowed them all."

"Why do you think he's gone there?"

"Couldn't come along the road to Whittingham, sir, it's patrolled."

There was still a chance. It was ten miles across the country from the
colonel's to Johnny's and six miles on from Johnny's to Whittingham.
The man divined my thoughts.

"He can't go fast, sir, he's wounded in the leg. If he goes home
first, as he will, because he doesn't know his horses are gone, he
can't get here before eleven at the earliest."

"How was he wounded?" I asked. "Tell me what the colonel did to him,
and be short."

"Yes, sir. The colonel told us Mr. Carr was to be kept at the ranch
over night; wasn't to leave it alive, sir, he said. Well, up to
yesterday it was all right and pleasant. Mr. Carr wasn't very well,
and the doses the colonel gave him didn't seem to make him any
better--quite the contrary. But yesterday afternoon he got rampageous,
would go, anyhow, ill or well! So he got up and dressed. We'd taken
all his weapons from him, sir, and when he came down dressed, and
asked for his horse, we told him he couldn't go. Well, he just said,
'Get out of the light, I tell you,' and began walking toward the hall
door. I don't mind saying we were rather put about, sir. We didn't
care to shoot him as he stood, and it's my belief we'd have let him
pass; but just as he was going out, in comes the colonel. 'Hallo!
what's this, Johnny?' says he. 'You've got some damned scheme on,'
said Mr. Carr. 'I believe you've been drugging me. Out of the way,
McGregor, or I'll brain you.' 'Where are you going?' says the colonel.
'To Whittingham, to the President's,' said he. 'Not to-day,' says the
colonel. 'Come, be reasonable, Johnny. You'll be all right to-morrow.'
'Colonel McGregor,' says he, 'I'm unarmed, and you've got a revolver.
You can shoot me if you like, but unless you do, I'm going out. You've
been playing some dodge on me, and, by God! you shall pay for it.'
With that he rushed straight at the colonel. The colonel, he stepped
on one side and let him pass. Then he went after him to the door,
waited till he was about fifteen yards off, then up with his revolver,
as cool as you like, and