'Well, well,' said the Captain, when he had finished. 'So he's got right away.'
'They're after him,' said Sinclair hopefully. 'He didn't get much of a start, and they're armed.'
McAuliffe had a word to say. 'Pshaw! as if he couldn't get away from those bullet stoppers,' he cried disdainfully. 'Tell you, Lamont's a match for that crowd. Might as well try and catch a badger on open prairie as him. The badger jumps into a hole and pulls it in after him. Lamont's the same.'
In the meantime, Dave was half choking Menotah with the fiery spirit. 'When whisky fails, order the coffin,' he proclaimed, as she began to cough.
Sinclair listened at the window. The night was very dark and pleasantly cool by then. Rain was falling heavily. 'They should be back soon.'
'It's not far to the river, and he'll swim that,' said the Captain.
'Then he'll be all right,' added the Factor. 'The bullet stoppers won't follow. First place, they can't swim; if they could, they'd be too darned scared of getting wet.'
The hunter turned to Dave. 'If you want to save her, you'd better get her away before they come back.'
'I'll chaw them up if they try to start fooling,' said Dave.
'You can't do it. They'd hang her quick enough for this night's business.'