not," replied the captain, seeing the injustice of his
words; "but I have been so wrought up by what has occurred that I can
hardly think clearly. I ask your pardon for my hasty words."

"You needn't do that, for I see how bad you feel and I'm sorry for
you."

"When was it they left?"

"Early this afternoon."

"There was no one with them of course?"

"Nobody except that big dog they call Timon; he was frolicking 'round
the horses, as if he enjoyed it as much as them."

Every atom of news was painful, and yet the afflicted father could not
restrain himself from asking questions of no importance.

"About what hour do you think it was when they left?"

"It must have been near two o'clock when the leftenant fetched up his
horse and the pony belonging to the young lady. She must have been
expectin' him, for she come right out of the house, without keeping
him waitin' a minute. He helped her into the saddle, while they talked
and laughed as happy as could be."

This was wormwood and gall to the parent, but he did not spare
himself.

"Did you overhear anything said by them?"

"I wouldn't have considered it proper to listen, even if they hadn't
been so far off I couldn't catch a word that passed atween 'em."

"Was there anything in their actions to show they intended to take a
longer ride than usual?"

"I don't see how there could be," replied the puzzled Adams, while
Parson Brush, understanding what the distraught captain meant,
explained:

"Was there anything in their appearance which suggested that they
meant to take anything more than an ordinary gallop?"

"I didn't think of it at the time, but I can see now there was. Each
of them had what seemed to be extra clothing and perhaps they had
food, though I couldn't make sure of that. You know there has been
something in the sky that looked like a coming storm, and I thought it
was on that account that the clothing was took along. Then, as the
leftenant had knocked off work, it might be he was not feeling very
well."

"The scoundrel made that very excuse for leaving me," bitterly
commented Captain Dawson, "but he wouldn't have taken the clothing as
part of the same design for there was no need of anything of the kind.
They laid their plans carefully and everything joined to make it as
easy as possible."

"Your thoughts were precisely what ours would have been," said the
parson, drawn toward the messenger unjustly accused by the captain in
the tumult of