“That express! Redville at seven-thirty!� exclaimed Black Mayo.
Before any one had the ghost of an idea what he was going to do, he was out of the group, at the horse rack where Rosinante was tied, on her back, and galloped down the road. Andrews with an oath, jumped on his horse and pounded after him.
Without a word, the little group watched the fleeing and the pursuing man till they were out of sight. Then they looked around at one another.
“What on earth’s the meaning of it all?� Will Blair asked everybody.
No one tried to answer.
But David Spotswood said: “I know two things: Cousin Mayo’s all right, and Jake Andrews will never catch him.�
Red Mayo laughed. “Never! As Emma would say, he might as well try to plant a rose bush on the tail of a comet. Well, we must go and tell Polly.� And then his face grew sober.
CHAPTER XVII
BLACK MAYO did not spare his good horse, but the train whistled long before he reached Redville, and a desperate spurt of speed only brought him to the station as the train was pulling out. He flung himself off Rosinante and ran down the platform—just too late to clutch the rear railing of the last coach.
There was no one in sight; the station agent did not meet this early train, and the telegraph office would not be open for another hour.