“Ain’t you heard about extra west last night?”
“Nary a word—a felly might as well be in his grave as in that freight-shed. What about extra west?”
So Jack told him the story of the abandoned train and missing crew, while Reddy stood listening with starting eyes and open mouth.
“Well, if that don’t beat anything I ever heard!” he said, when Jack had finished. “But Allan and Stanley wasn’t there—”
“No; they went out this mornin’ t’ look over the ground. They was expectin’ t’ come back this arternoon.”
A sudden shadow seemed to pass across Reddy’s face.
“What’s the matter?” asked Jack, noticing it.
“I was jest thinkin’,” said Reddy, speaking with some difficulty, “that I’d ’a’ liked to gone along.”
“So would I, but I wasn’t asked.”
“Well, good-bye,” Reddy said, turning away. “I’ve got t’ go home an’ see my missus, an’ git a decent meal. Jack,” he added, stopping and looking back, “if they don’t come back, let’s go out ourselves in the mornin’.”