When
she reached the landing and turned half towards him, he saw that her
head was fallen.
"Not a glance, not a thought for me," murmured the doctor. "But if the
stranger _does_ leave----" Instead of finishing the muttered sentences,
he drew a chair back against the wall and sat down with folded hands to
wait.
CHAPTER XXI
MAC STRANN DECIDES TO KEEP THE LAW
It was hours later that night when Haw-Haw Langley and Mac Strann sat
their horses on the hill to the south. Before them, on the nearest rise
of ground, a clump of tall trees and the sharp triangle of a roof split
the sky, while down towards the right spread a wide huddle of sheds and
barns.
"That's where the trail ends," said Mac Strann, and started his horse
down the slope. Haw-Haw Langley urged his little mount hurriedly
alongside the squat bulk of his companion. He looked like the skeleton
reality, and Mac Strann the blunt, deformed shadow.
"You ain't going into the house lookin' for him, Mac?" he asked, and he
lowered his voice to a sharp whisper in spite of the distance. "Maybe
there's a pile of men in that house. It's got room for a whole army. You
ain't going in there by yourself, Mac?"
"Haw-Haw," explained the big man quietly, "I ain't going after Barry.
I'm going to make him come after me."
Haw-Haw considered this explanation for a dazed moment. It was far too
mysterious for his comprehension.
"What you goin' to do?" he asked again.
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