“How long’s he been gone?” he asked, turning his eyes from her terror-stricken face to help himself regain his own control.
“About a quarter of an hour, or even a half,” she cried.
“It’s a quarter of a mile, isn’t it?”
“More. Nearly a mile.”
“Right. You stay here.” He threw a pistol on the table. “Keep that to protect yourself,” he added, brusquely. “And––Eve, if I get there in time, I’ll save your brother. If I don’t, your husband shall die, as sure as–––”
But his sentence remained unfinished. He rushed out of the house and sought his horse. The animal was still grazing near by. He slipped the bit into its mouth. Then he sprang on to its bare back and galloped off.
And as he rushed out Eve fell back into a chair laughing and crying at the same time.