"I see the red waistcoat—yes," admitted Janice, peering into the gloomy store.
"Hi tunket! D'you know who's inside that red vest?" sputtered Marty.
"No-o."
"Tom Hotchkiss!" said her cousin. "What d'you know about that?"
CHAPTER XIX
THE CROSSING
It is not the magnitude of an incident that most shocks the human mind. A happening stuns us in ratio to its unexpectedness.
Now, if there was anything in the whole range of possibilities more unexpected than the appearance of Tom Hotchkiss, the absconding Polktown storekeeper, down in this unlovely Border town, Janice Day could not imagine what that more unexpected occurrence could be.
It took fully a minute for Marty's announcement to really percolate to his cousin's understanding. She stared dumbly at the red vest, which was about all she could see of the man in Don José Almoreda Tomas Sauceda Pez's store, and then turned to Marty, saying:
"Yes?"