“Well, I am sure I can’t tell as to that.  But, to change the subject, may I be so bold as to inquire which way you are traveling?”

“Certainly, sir; I am on my way to Philadelphia.”

“I was in hopes you were going the same way as ourselves; perhaps you are; we are bound for Wheeling, Virginia.—­Do you go that way?”

“No, I go by way of Pittsburgh.”

“Do you tarry long at Pittsburgh?  We may have to go there before we return.”

“No sir.  My mother is very sick at her brother’s house in Philadelphia, and I shall hasten to her with all dispatch.”

“Then, I perceive, we shall have to part company.”

“I am sorry for that, as I should be pleased to have companionship on my lonely journey.”

Having found out all that concerned his purpose, Bill changed the conversation, and all of them being fatigued with hard riding throughout the day, the three soon retired for the night.  Bill and Dick roomed together, and when alone the former said: 

“Didn’t I do it up about the right way, Dick?”

“Better than I expected; but, ——­ me, if I didn’t think you’d got on the wrong track once.”

“I knew what I was at all the time; but I saw you were scared.”

“Well, what’s to be done next?”

“We must get ahead of him, and do the thing up while he is crossing the mountains, as Lieutenant Duffel suggested, and as I told you before.”

“We can do that easy enough; but what do you think; shan’t we make Duffel side with us in the Duval affair for putting us to so much trouble?”

“Yes, and that is one reason why I wish to get through with this job as soon as possible.  We must get back in time for the League meeting somehow.”

“We’ll have to ride like the d——­l, then; for the meeting is on Friday night week.”

“Well, we must be there if it is next Friday night, and we must finish our work before we go.”

“I’m with you.”

“And then, if Duffel don’t assist us to fix Duval, or at least, if he don’t let us have our own way in the matter, we will raise Hadley’s ghost before his eyes, and threaten to ‘blow’ on him.”

“He’ll do it.”

“He shall do it.”

“Well, as that’s settled, let’s go to sleep.”

“Yes, for we have a hard day’s ride before us to-morrow.”

* * * * *

The shades of evening were gathering over the rugged steeps and deep dells of the Alleghanies, as two horsemen, leaving the summit of the mountains, descended to a deep, dark valley, shaded and environed by a dense growth of pine and other wood, on the eastern slope leading to the Atlantic.  As they entered this dismal looking spot, one of them broke the silence by remarking: 

“This is the place.”

“Shall we rob him after he is dead?” inquired the other.

“Certainly.  He has a pile about him; and it was for this I was trying, when he accused me of attempting to rob him, and resenting the accusation brought on the quarrel, and with it the insult.  Yes, I must have his life and his money, too.”