"Looking for work," I answered.
"Well, you ought to be able to find it. But most men hunting for work these days put me in mind of a horse goin' along the road lookin' for somethin' to get scared at. A feller came along yesterday and said he was hungry; but when I showed him some work I wanted done he skulked off. Are you hungry enough to help build a fence?"
"No, but I'm hungry enough to pay for something to eat."
"Oh, well, then, I guess you're all right. Just go on to the house and make yourself to home."
I went to the house; and while sitting by the fire, the wind high and the rain lashing at the window, I formed the resolve to go back to Bolanyo. I would surrender myself to the authorities, to claim the right of trial by jury and to accept the result. And reason was not now a coward, a cripple, but more like a man, cool, bold and strong. I reviewed with pity the morbid fear that held me back from Maffet; I felt now that in safety I could have made myself known to him. The Senator had come to look after my interest, and surely he would not have frowned upon me. Yes, I would go back to Bolanyo. I was sick of the rabbitlike freedom of an outlaw.
"How far is it to the railway station?" I inquired of the farmer.
"Well," he drawled, "I don't know for certain."
I knew that it was not in his Yankee nature to give me a direct answer, so I waited.
"There's a milk station a little nearer than the other one. Want to get on the train?"
"Oh, no, I want to go over to the station to see how it looks in the rain."