his way to the rendezvous at Marshall's claim. But this he as instantly
set aside, it was his SON he must find; SHE might not confess, or might
deceive him--the boy would not; and if his fears were correct, she could
be arraigned afterwards. It was possible for him to reach the little
Mission church and school, secluded in a remote valley by the old
Franciscan fathers, where he had placed the boy for the last few years
unknown to his wife. It would be a long ride, but he could still reach
Heavy Tree Hill afterwards before Marshall and the expert arrived. And
he had a feeling he had never felt before on the eve of a desperate
adventure,--that he must see the boy first. He remembered how the child
had often accompanied him in his flight, and how he had gained strength,
and, it seemed to him, a kind of luck, from the touch of that small hand
in his. Surely it was necessary now that at least his mind should be at
rest regarding HIM on the eve of an affair of this moment. Perhaps he
might never see him again. At any other time, and under the influence of
any other emotion, he would have scorned such a sentimentalism--he who
had never troubled himself either with preparation for the future or
consideration for the past. But at that moment he felt both. He drew
a long breath. He could catch the next train to the Three Boulders and
ride thence to San Felipe. He hurriedly left the room, settled with the
landlord, and galloped to the station. By the irony of circumstances the
only horse available for that purpose was Mr. Hamlin's own.

By two o'clock he was at the Three Boulders, where he got a fast horse
and galloped into San Felipe by four. As he descended the last slope
through the fastnesses of pines towards the little valley overlooked
in its remoteness and purely pastoral simplicity by the gold-seeking
immigrants,--its seclusion as one of the furthest northern Californian
missions still preserved through its insignificance and the efforts of
the remaining Brotherhood, who used it as an infirmary and a school for
the few remaining Spanish families,--he remembered how he once blundered
upon it with the boy while hotly pursued by a hue and cry from one of
the larger towns, and how he found sanctuary there. He remembered how,
when the pursuit was over, he had placed the boy there under the padre's
charge. He had lied to his wife regarding the whereabouts of her son,
but he had spoken truly regarding his free expenditure for the