"Have ye got the kids?" the squatter questioned.
Everett catechized the heavy face with a smile.
"Did you think for a moment it was possible to obtain them so quickly?"
"I hain't had no way of knowin'," grunted Lon, "and I'm in a hurry."
He seemed changed, and looked as if he had not slept. Everett wondered if his affection for the children had been so great that his loss of them had altered him thus. The lawyer did not know how Lon was tortured when he caressed the image of the dead woman, nor could he know the man's agony when her spirit left him suddenly.
"You'll have to curb your haste," said Brimbecomb, with a curl of his lip. "It takes time to set justice in motion."
"Have ye done anything?"
"Not yet. I was forced to go to New York."
"Hadn't ye better git a hustle on yerself?" snarled Lon.
"Yes, I intend to begin tomorrow; that is, to take the first steps in the matter. But I wanted to talk with you first. Are you alone?"