“There was no one with them of course?”
“Nobody except that big dog they call Timon; he was frolicking ’round the horses, as if he enjoyed it as much as them.”
Every atom of news was painful, and yet the afflicted father could not restrain himself from asking questions of no importance.
“About what hour do you think it was when they left?”
“It must have been near two o’clock when the leftenant fetched up his horse and the pony belonging to the young lady. She must have been expectin’ him, for she come right out of the house, without keeping him waitin’ a minute. He helped her into the saddle, while they talked and laughed as happy as could be.”
This was wormwood and gall to the parent, but he did not spare himself.
“Did you overhear anything said by them?”
“I wouldn’t have considered it proper to listen, even if they hadn’t been so far off I couldn’t catch a word that passed atween ’em.”
“Was there anything in their actions to show they intended to take a longer ride than usual?”