It so chanced that Ben Cooper sat facing the strangers. He caught the landlord’s words and the answer that followed. He also heard the warning “Sh-h-h!” and saw the tug at the speaker’s sleeve.
Lowering his voice, he described the scene to Ezra.
“Why,” said the latter, “there is something familiar about that.”
“Just what I thought,” agreed Ben. “The warning reminds me a great deal of what you have just told me of your acquaintance Jason Collyer.”
“I wonder,” said Ezra, “could it, by any chance, be he?”
“If it is, he has followed you,” replied Ben.
As Ezra was opposite his friend, his back was to the newcomers; but some little distance away there was a broad framed mirror, and by sitting in a certain way he discovered that he could get a very good view of them, indeed.
There were four in the party and all were attired in the soiled dress of farm laborers. However, three of them bore themselves in a swaggering manner much out of keeping with their apparent station. And all of them wore pistols belted at their waists. The fourth man, and much the smaller, sat in a shadow and for a time Ezra could not make him out. However, he finally turned his head to reply to a remark of one of his companions and his countenance was fairly reflected in the glass. There was no mistaking the furtive eyes and ferret features. It was Jason Collyer.
When the lad made this discovery known to Ben, the latter became greatly excited.
“He’s followed you. You thought he suspected you all along, and you were right.”