"I'll be hanged if I know," replied the major.
"Gone to raise the town, I guess," said Capt. Jordan. "Well, I won't give him the chance. My horse is outside, and I'll skip."
"Good-day, cap. Come and see me again," said the major.
Capt. Jordan moved toward the door.
Tommy placed himself before him.
"You don't go from here," he exclaimed, "before you tell me about my mother."
"She is quite well, so is Alice. As for Harold, you must ask the man you call your father about him, for his hand is red with his boy's blood."
"Why don't you let mamma go away?" asked Tommy.
"Simply because she doesn't want to," was the reply.
Tommy smiled disdainfully, as if he did not believe this.