He had said nothing to me. No one else had any notion of the dwarf’s whereabouts. We went out upon the terrace in the vague hope of seeing or hearing something of him. Suddenly the distinct sound of clattering horse hoofs fell upon the night. The wind blew in gusts and, in a moment, the sound had vanished. But the wind came again in a moment and the hoof beats with it, louder than before. And then, fast and clear, the triple ring of a horse at full gallop along the frozen highway to the north.
“Someone is abroad to-night,” said the patroon.
“Yes, a horseman,” I replied.
We both spoke calmly. An observer might have wondered why we had not cried out, for the sound came suddenly like one speaking in the dark. For my part, I suspected Louis, though how or what I did not know. The patroon may have thought likewise, for he asked:
“Who is that, do you suppose?”
“A horseman,” I replied again.
There was no other answer to be had. The rider passed the park without stopping or slackening his speed, which we could now tell was breakneck and wild to the extreme. Where he was going and for what purpose we could not tell. Gradually the sound died away and left us gaping at the blank dark. After that we went back into the house, the patroon muttering curses upon the dwarf for his absence.
CHAPTER XXIV
CAPTAIN WILLIAM KIDD
Though we sat together for some time after that, little enough passed between us. I had my own thoughts and so had the patroon. Whatever was in his mind I could not tell, but I thought that it was Louis. For if there was the least sound outside he would start up expectantly; and when, as always happened, Louis did not appear, his face would grow black, and the corners of his mouth would drop down, as they did in his worst moments. I hardly wonder, considering what followed later, that he was ill at ease. In all likelihood, he suspected the real cause of Louis’s absence and knew much better than I did in what danger it would involve himself.
However, the whole evening was not to be given up to hopeless grumbling after the lost henchman. I had first come to New York in August, as you will remember, and it was now late in November. The roads were still hard, witness the sharp clattering ring of the horseman who had ridden by shortly before on the frozen ground; but at any day now we might expect the bad weather to set in and difficult roads to follow.