While the searching party was gone, we spent the time discussing Mike's peculiarities—most of all his horseback ride in the moonlight, a curious departure for a hired man.
"This whole thing is unusual in the extreme, Stone. Since the night that you were escorted to the pond by Chief Hallen's men and there warned of impending danger, and your unknown friend was chased by the man lying in wait for you, I have had a net around Mike and Maloney and Cook, but with negative results," said Oakes.
"You see, Maloney and Cook go about their business in a quiet fashion, while Mike cannot be approached very well; the men report him as very shrewd and suspicious."
"Did you find out where Mike went on his horseback trip?"
"No, that is another curious thing. The Lorona man who brought him the horse says he has done it for a few days and received good pay. The horse was always returned promptly, once or twice by a boy; the other times by Mike himself."
"To have done that, Mike must have walked back from Lorona," said Hallen.
"No, he may have ridden part way. We found a man this evening who saw him take a team on the Lorona Highway and ride into Mona after dark."
"Where is Mike now?" I inquired.
"Since the episode of that horseback ride, witnessed by Dr. Moore and yourself, he has disappeared."