Alden had not yet sat down, tired as he was. His wish to deliver the mail pressed upon him.
“Can you tell me how near I am to the station?” he asked of Mr. Chadwick.
“Almost within a stone’s throw; yonder it is.”
Looking in the direction he pointed, Alden saw the dull glow of light from the loopholes of the structure, not far beyond the confines of the camp. It was singular that he had not noticed it as he came up, but the bigger illumination obscured the lesser.
“I must go,” he said; “a good deal of time has been already lost.”
“Will you not come back and spend the night with us? We can give you comfortable quarters in one of the wagons.”
“Thank you; I may do so.”
He was about to move off when the other with a laugh asked:
“Did you see anything of a man on horseback carrying a lantern?”
Alden was all attention.