Part 8 (1/2)
”I tink eet ees time to be what you call depart,” was the reply. ”Eet ees mooch dead ze metis will shoot us if zey come now.”
He glanced apprehensively around.
”It's the other man who came with Katie to the place where they had me prisoner, and who remained behind,”
explained Douglas. ”He told me he'd come on.”
The half-breed looked surprisedly and incredulously at the rancher. Dorothy had now joined the group, and was listening to what was being said.
”_Mon Dieu!_” exclaimed Bastien, ”but ees eet possible that you not know! Katie she haf told all to me. Ze man you declare of he will no more come back. Ze man who made of you a preesonar, have to show one on ze morrow, but eet matter not vich, and dey arrange to show _ze ozer man!_ He take your place; he mooch good fellow, and zey shoot him mooch dead to-morrow!”
And all at once the truth--the self-sacrifice that Pasmore had so quietly carried out--flashed upon them. It was a revelation.
Douglas understood now why it was the sergeant had told him to hurry on, and not wait.
CHAPTER XI
THE RETREAT
There was a dead silence for about thirty seconds after the half-breed had revealed the truth regarding Pasmore's non-appearance. Douglas wondered why he had not suspected the real state of affairs before. Of course, Pasmore knew that his guards had only consented to the exchange on condition that he was handed over to the bloodthirsty crew on the morrow!
As for Dorothy, she realised at last how she had been trying to keep the truth from herself. She thought of how she had almost resented the fact of Pasmore having more than once faced death in order to secure the safety of her father and herself, although the man was modesty itself and made it appear as if it were only a matter of duty. True, she had thanked him in words, but her heart upbraided her when she thought of how commonplace and conventional those words must have sounded, no matter what she might have felt She knew now that Katie must have found and spoken to him, and that her father's liberty probably meant his--Pasmore's--death. How n.o.ble was the man! How true the words--”Greater love hath-no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend.”
It was Douglas who first broke the silence; he spoke like a man who was determined on a certain line of action, and whose resolve nothing should shake.
”I feel that what this fellow tells us is true, Dorothy,”
he said; ”but it is utterly impossible that I can have it so. Pasmore is a young man with all his life before him, and I have no right to expect a sacrifice like this.
I am going back--back this very moment, and you must go on with Rory. Pasmore can follow up. You must go on to Child-of-Light, who will take you safely to some of the settlers near Fort Pitt. As soon as the soldiers get here they will crush this rebellion at once. After all, I don't believe they will harm me. As for Pasmore, if they discover that he is one of the Police, he is a dead man.
Good-bye!”
The girl caught him by both hands, and kissed him.
”You are right, father, you are only doing what is right,”
she said, ”but I am coming with you. I could not possibly think of going on alone. We will return together. You will go on and take Pasmore's place--it will be all one to his guards so long as they produce a prisoner--and he can make good his escape. Lagrange here, who had charge of me before, can imprison me along with you, and the chances are they will be content to keep us as prisoners.
It will also save Lagrange from getting into trouble later on.”
”Ah! that ees mooch good,” broke in the breed, who had caught the drift of the last proposal. ”_Oui_, that ees good, and then they will not shoot me mooch dead.”
Old Rory gave a grunt and eyed the hulking fellow disgustedly. ”It's nary a fut ye'll be goin' back now, an' I'm tellin' yees, so it's makin' what moind ye have aisy, sez Oi.”
He turned to the rancher and there was grim determination in his eyes.
”An' as for you goin' back now, shure an' it's a gossoon ye'll be takin' me for if ye think I'll be lettin' yees.
It's ten chances to wan them jokers'll have changed their sentymints by the time ye git thar, and will hould on to the sarjint as well as to you. It's mesilf as is goin'
back if ye juist tell me where the show is, for I knows the whole caboodle, an' if I can't git him out o' that before another hour, then Rory's not the name av me. You juist--”
But he never finished the sentence, for at that very moment two or three shots rang out on the still night.
They came from the neighbourhood of the town.