“I dunno how she could do it, but she did—she crawled down through the rocks and over pretty near to the road. It took her more’n half the night to do it—it was ’most two o’clock into the mornin’ when they found her. She couldn’t git any further, and she laid there a-cryin’ and a-screamin’—— Oh, why does God let a devil like Snake live? Seems like He ain’t much good to let sech things be!
“But anyway, there was two fellers out coon-huntin’, and the dogs had run a coon up that way, and they found Lou. It was Tom Malley and Joe Weeks—they live ’way ’long on the Paltz road, and they’d drove up this way to hunt. They went and got their wagon and put Lou in and took her down to the Malley place, and while Tom’s folks did what they could he put for the doctor, ’way over to Paltz. The doctor, he says she might live a few days, but that’s all. She’s awful tough, like all the Bracketts—they die hard. But she can’t live; she’s hurt too bad.”
“And she was able to tell about it?”
“Yes, a little to a time. And Missus Malley, Tom’s wife, she was sharp enough to have it all wrote down. There’s quite a family of ’em, the Malleys, and the oldest boy is quick at writin’, folks say; and she made him set there by the bed and write down every word Lou said. The doctor said that was a right smart thing to do, and the detectives said so too. They didn’t have to ask her——”
“The detectives? Did they go down there?”
“One of ’em did. T’other stayed here. They’re both here now. Tom Malley was so mad he drove up here this mornin’ and told everybody he come across about it, and he met the detectives, and one of ’em went back with him—the quiet one that don’t look so much like a bulldog.”
“Ward. He’s the brains of the combination. And I suppose nobody else around here is doing anything but talk about it.”
“Ain’t they? You’re the only one, Mister Hammerless Hampton, that ain’t! Our fellers are kind of rough, mebbe, some of ’em, but they don’t set still after a thing like this! Every gun into the Traps is out after Snake, ’ceptin’ yours and mine. And mine’s been waitin’ for him ever since pop got kilt.”
“So has mine,” he reminded her. “What are the boys doing?”
“They’re a-watchin’ every way out of the Traps. They know he ain’t gone—they ’most caught him this afternoon, up to his house. He didn’t know about Lou bein’ alive and found, I s’pose, and he was gittin’ his stuff together as if he was goin’ somewheres—gun and food and oil and so on—— What would he want oil for, I wonder? Anyway, he skinned out of a back winder when they jumped in at the door. Job Clark shot at him, but he missed, and Snake got into the woods and they lost him. But the house is bein’ watched now, and so’s every road and trail. He’s got his gun, though, and if you’re a-goin’ to stay in to-night you’d better lock up tight. He might come and git you. And now I’d better go home.”