She rose and caught him by the arm. Her eyes were fierce with
vindictiveness.
"Don't let them stop till they've caught him, Sandy. I hope they will
hang him to-night!"
A movement in the sick-room called her within, and Sandy hurried out
to the buggy, which was still standing at the gate.
He lighted the lantern and, throwing the robe across his knees,
started for town. The intense emotional strain under which he had
labored since noon, together with fatigue, was beginning to play
tricks with his nerves. Twice he pulled in his horse, thinking he
heard voices in the wood. The third time he stopped and got out. At
infrequent intervals a groan broke the stillness.
He climbed the snake-fence and beat about among the bushes. The groan
came again, and he followed the sound.
At the foot of a tall beech-tree a body was lying face downward. He
held his lantern above his head and bent over it. It was a man, and,
as he tried to turn him over, he saw a slight red stain on the snow
beneath his mouth. The figure, thus roused, stirred and tried to sit
up. As he did so, the light from Sandy's lantern fell full on the
dazed and swollen face of Carter Nelson. The two faced each other for
a space, then Sandy asked him sharply what he did there.
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