"S'long."
"S'long."
"Lord" Bill vaulted into the saddle, and Golden Eagle moved restively away.
It was as well that Foss River was a sleepy place. "Lord" Bill's precautions were not elaborate. But then he knew the ways of the settlement.
Dr. Abbot chanced to be standing in the doorway of the saloon. Bill's shack was little more than a hundred yards away. The doctor was about to step across to see if he were in, for the purpose of luring his friend into a game. Poker was not so plentiful with the doctor now since Bill had dropped out of Lablache's set.
He saw the dim outline of a horseman moving away from the back of "Lord" Bill's hut. His curiosity was aroused. He hastened across to the shack. He found it locked up, and in darkness. He turned away wondering. And as he turned away he found himself almost face to face with Baptiste. The doctor knew the man.
"Evening, Baptiste."
"Evening," the man growled.
The doctor was about to speak again but the man hurried away.
"Damned funny," the medical man muttered. Then he moved off towards his own home. Somehow he had forgotten his wish for poker.