“Yes. What of it?”
“I don’t believe the law would do anything to Miss McCarthy in that case. Of course I am sorry for the calf,” said Harriet.
“Oh, the calf ain’t hurt. Jest lost a little hair off her tail, shaved off as close as ye could do it with a razor. But that don’t matter. It’s the barn and nigh onto a hundred tons of hay gone up in smoke that bothers me. I wisht I was sure you was telling the truth. If I thought you weren’t I’d have you all in the lock-up afore morning.”
“Are—are there any mithe in the lock-up?” questioned Tommy apprehensively.
“Eh? Stacks all gone, too?” This in answer to a word from a farmer who came from the rear of the burning barn. “Well, let ’em go. There’ll be another crop of hay next year. Mebby the price’ll be better then.”
The loss of his barn did not appear to trouble the “Squire” greatly. All the time he was talking he was regarding the women out of the corners of his eyes. He saw that they were drenched through and through. Tommy and Margery were shivering. He decided that they were persons of some consequence, even if they had been sleeping in his barn. His reflections were interrupted by Miss Elting.
“Can you tell me which way the young woman and the car went?”
“Can I? I guess I can. She went east. The calf could tell ye, too, if she could talk, but she wouldn’t say it quite so easy like as I’m tellin’ you now.”
“Jane was looking for us,” nodded Miss Elting. “She must have reasoned that we had gotten into this valley by mistake.”
“Where you going to stay the rest of the night?” questioned the squire gruffly.