McFarlane, with the receiver to his ear, was saying: “Don’t know a thing about it, Mr. Evingham. Settle was at the station when I left. I didn’t know he was going down to Coal City. No, that’s a mistake. My daughter was never engaged to Alec Belden. Alec Belden is the older of the brothers, and is married. I can’t go into that just now. If you come down I’ll explain fully.”
He hung up the receiver and slowly turned toward his wife and daughter. “This sure is our day of trouble,” he said, with dejected countenance.
“What is it all about?” asked Berrie.
“Why, it seems that after I left yesterday Settle rode down the valley with Belden’s outfit, and they all got to drinking, ending in a row, and Tony beat one of Belden’s men almost to death. The sheriff has gone over to get Tony, and the Beldens declare they’re going to railroad him. That means we’ll all be brought into it. Belden has seized the moment to prefer charges against me for keeping Settle in the service and for putting a non-resident on the roll as guard. The whelp will dig up everything he can to queer me with the office. All that kept him from doing it before was Cliff’s interest in you.”
“He can’t make any of his charges stick,” declared Berrie.
“Of course he can’t. He knows that. But he can bring us all into court. You and Mr. Norcross will both be called as witnesses, for it seems that Tony was defending your name. The papers call it ‘a fight for a girl.’ Oh, it’s a sweet mess.”
For the first time Berrie betrayed alarm. “What shall we do? I can’t go on the stand! They can’t make me do that, can they?” She turned to Wayland. “Now you must go away. It is a shame to have you mixed up in such a trial.”
“I shall not run away and leave you and the Supervisor to bear all the burden of this fight.”
He anticipated in imagination—as they all did—some of the consequences of this trial. The entire story of the camping trip would be dragged in, distorted into a scandal, and flashed over the country as a disgraceful episode. The country would ring with laughter and coarse jest. Berrie’s testimony would be a feast for court-room loafers.
“There’s only one thing to do,” said McFarlane, after a few moments of thought. “You and Berrie and Mrs. McFarlane must get out of here before you are subpoenaed.”