Part 21 (1/2)

”There's a train to Hexhaht suit ye to start for the station, even if ye dinna' get there”

”No,” said Foster thoughtfully ”We'll pull out by some by-road before that You see, the train comes from Newcastle”

He went to his roo the letters under his pillow quietly ainst the door The lock was a common pattern and could probably be opened by a key fro rooms He was half-asha nervous Hitherto he had found so a trail for his pursuers, but there was a difference now For all that, he slept soundly until he akened by a noise at the door It was dark and so his pistol, he leaned on one elbow, ready to spring out of bed, and then felt keen relief as he heard Pete say, ”Dinna' keep on knocking! Leave the hot water outside”

”Yes; put it down, thanks,” said Foster, who got up, feeling angry with himself

It looked as if the person outside had been knocking for soht have been excited had he heard that his guest had barricaded his door Dressing by gaslight, he found breakfast ready when he went down, and day broke soon after the meal was over Foster paid his bill and set off with Pete, taking the e, where so on a colliery bank Pete indicated a lane that branched off to the north

”Yon's our way, but I'ht on for a bit”

They followed thesome fields, turned into the lane they had passed, which rose steadily to higher ground After a tiht towards the west This was the old military road,afterwards repaired by General Wade, who tried to move his troops across to intercept Prince Charlie's march Foster sat down for a few minutes at the corner and looked back at the distant chimney-stacks and trails of smoke

The railway and the road by which the main traffic went followed the valley of the Tyne, but the athered froht Grahao by train; the latter probably knew enough about hi for Liddesdale, and as there were notnorth fro by Carlisle If this were so, and he was being looked for, his pursuers would now be in front of hi the Daly; for one thing, it would be aard if the police arrested him while he had the checks in his pocket All the same, he meant to visit the Garth, tell Alice he had been successful, ask is she had news of Lawrence, and try to overcome Featherstone's suspicions Then, if Lawrence had not written yet, he o back to Canada as soon as he had seen Daly

Beyond this Foster's plans were vague; he did not know, for example, how he could force Daly to keep Lawrence's secret, without pro the ht find a way and was tired of puzzling about the matter In a sense, he had taken a ridiculous line fro and perhaps involved himself in needless difficulties His partner, however, must be protected, and in the meantime he had two objects; to avoid the police and Graham

”Perhaps we had better keep the military road until we strike the North Tyne,” he said to Pete ”Then, if nothing turns up to prevent it, wethe day before them, they set off at a leisurely pace The air was cold but still, and bright sunshi+ne shone upon the tableland, which rolled north, rising steadily towards distant snow-streaked hills

Nothing suspicious happened, and late in the afternoon they came down into the valley of the North Tyne and turned south for Hexham As they did so they passed an inn and Foster stopped They were sory, while the inn looked unusually coo in and order a meal, but hesitated, for no very obvious reason

”We'll wait and get dinner e ain

A thin wood, separated from the road by a low fence, ran between the the trees, the road narrow, and presently they heard a car co very fast and when it lurched across an opening in the hedge round a bend Foster put his hand on the fence and swung himself over Pete followed silently, but when they stood in the shadow arowth Foster felt annoyed because he had yielded to a half-instinctive impulse He must, of course, be cautious, but there was no reason for overdoing it

Nexttowards the fence as it took the curve, dashed past, and Foster set his lips as he saw Graha up the road Then the car vanished a the trees, and Pete looked at him curiously

”Is yon the rimly; ”I rather think ere just in time It's very possible that he'd have run over me if I'd been in the road An accident of that kind would have suited hi”

Pete nodded ”I ken! When ye feel ye , it's better just to do it and think afterwards” Then he raised his hand ”She's stopping!”

The throb of the engine suddenly slackened, as if the driver had seen the inn, and Foster got over the fence

”It's lucky we didn't stop for aback”

They kept along the side of the road, where the ground was soft, but Foster was ready to juive hih After a few e, where they could see the inn The car stood in the road and it was eone in to make inquiries, and Foster wondered whether anybody had seen him and his companion pass He would knohen Grahaate, which he opened, ready to slip through There was no need to warn Pete now the latter understood matters One could trust a poacher to hide himself quickly

Foster felt so to find Graham already on his track and he wondered whether the fellow had been to Carlisle It would be aard if he went to Hexham After a few minutes two men came out of the inn and Foster waited anxiously while one cranked the car, but they drove on when the engine started Then, as he turned back, the throbbing stopped again and he beckoned Pete

”They don't know you and it's getting dark Go on and see which way they take”

He kept close to the hedge when Pete vanished The car had stopped where the military road cut across another that followed the river into the moors, and Graham apparently did not knohich to take It looked as if the fellow had ascertained that he was not at Hexha back, but he could not tell which way it went, and waited in the gathering dark for Pete's return

”They'd gone before I ca on the hill to one west towards Carlisle”