Suddenly there was a detonation and a crash of glass. A whizzing bullet lodged in the face of the clock above Mrs. Duquette's head. Who fired the shot? And what was the motive? Was it intended that the bullet should kill, or only alarm?
Was it intended that the Duquettes should recognize the desirability of vacating the farm?
Who fired the shot?
Nothing was said openly about it; but the old people shook their heads, and hinted that cowboys, with pistols ostentatiously stuck in their belts, were not the most desirable residents of a quiet village like Marsden.
CHAPTER XVI. "BURNT A HOLE IN THE NIGHT."
That shot in the darkness furnished a theme for endless gossip amongst the villagers. There was not much work done the next day. When the exercise of the faculties is limited to considerations associated with the rare occurrence of a wedding or a death, intellectual activity is not great. Abstract reasoning is unknown; but a new objective fact connected with the environment is seized upon with great avidity. That shot was felt to be ominous. Was it the prologue to the tragedy? There was to be something more than that shot.
What was it?
Would anything else happen, and when would it happen?
The villagers were not kept long in suspense.