“How?”

“I will let you know in good time.  We must away, now, to meet Duffel in the ‘swamp.’”

Thus terminated the interview between these bad men.  Had Eveline dreamed that such would have been the effect of her revelation to them of Duffel’s purpose, she would have burned the paper sooner than have placed it in their hands.  From one snare she falls into another, and there appears to be no end to her misfortunes.

* * * * *

Night was upon the world.  In peaceful slumbers the innocent reposed, while the wicked, the thief and robber, stole out upon errands of vice and crime.

’Squire Williams, though in common a follower of that old proverb: 

  “Early to bed and early to rise,
  Make a man healthy, wealthy and wise;”

was, on this evening, up until past eleven o’clock, in social chat with a neighbor, who had “dropped in to spend the evening” with him.  During the conversation between them, the subject of most engrossing and universal interest in that community, that of horse-stealing, was amply discussed.

“What do you think is best to be done?” inquired the neighbor.

“Well, others may do as they please; but I intend to defend my property,” was the ’Squire’s reply.

“Just the conclusion I have arrived at; and I shall not be surprised if we are called upon very soon to put our resolves into practice.”

“Have you heard anything new?”

“Well, no, I haven’t heard anything, but I’ve seen a little, and that, I take it, is about as good.”

“Why, yes, it might be better, if it was good for anything at all.”

“I do not know how good it is, but my suspicions were excited.”

“It is quite an easy matter to have our suspicions excited these exciting times, and on this very exciting subject.  There is Mr. Mandeville, has been made to believe that one of the best young men who ever lived, is guilty of stealing his horse first, and his daughter afterward.”

“You don’t mean to say that he suspects Mr. Duffel of such crimes?”

“No; he judges a thousand times better man than Duffel; for, between you and me, I have my doubts about this Duffel.  I have seen him on two different occasions in company with a couple of, to say the least, very suspicious looking characters.”

“You don’t say so!”

“Yes; and what is more, he was evidently on good terms with them, though he did not appear to wish me to think so, and passed the matter off indifferently.  I might not have thought so much of the circumstance were it not for the fact that he does not attend to business at all, and yet lives in a better style and more extravagantly than any other young man in the country.  I tell you a man can’t live these times, and spend money as he does, without having an income much greater than his.”

“Perhaps he is making inroads on his capital.”