Mike was actually gathering his muscles for a leap that would have brought on a fight as vicious as that of two wildcats, when the tense stillness was broken by the words:
“Right this way, doctor; you’ll find them both here, your shots can’t miss.”
Now the peculiarity of this remark was that although plainly heard, it sounded as if the speaker meant that only the man at his side should catch his words. And it was at this juncture that Hoke Butler did a thing so clever that it won the everlasting admiration of Mike Murphy. The former dropped his voice several notes, so that one unacquainted with the facts, would have been certain it was another who was speaking.
“Show me a sight of them—just for a minute: that’s all I ask!”
Mike heard and understood. Saxy heard and misunderstood,—that is he believed it was the physician who was looking for him with a loaded weapon in hand. He muttered an exclamation which it will never do to print, plunged around the log structure, and disappeared with a speed that must have quickly overhauled the other tramp.
Mike dropped lightly to the ground and confronted the chuckling Hoke.
“Worra! but ye did that well. Where is the docther?”
“How should I know? I suppose he’s at his home.”
“What put it into yer head to make believe he was near us?”
“I don’t know except he was the first person I thought of.”