"
With the letter still in his hand Dan walked thoughtfully to Satan and took
the fine head between his fingers.
"S'pose some gent was to drop you, Satan," he murmured. "S'pose he was to
plug you while you was doin' your best to take me where I want to go.
S'pose he shot you not for anything you'd done but because of something
agin me. And s'pose after killin' you he was to sneak up on me with a lot
of other gents and try to murder me before I had a chance to fight back.
Satan, wouldn't I be right to trail 'em all--and kill 'em one by one?
Wouldn't it?"
Joan heard very little of the words--only a soft murmur of anxiety, and she
saw that Daddy Dan was very thoughtful indeed. The stallion reached for the
brim of Dan's hat--it was withdrawn from his reach--his head bowed, like a
nod of assent.
"Why, even Satan can see I'm right," murmured Dan, and moving back to the
fire, he tore the letter into many pieces which fluttered down in a white
stream and made the blaze leap up.
Chapter XXI. The Acid Test
Mrs. Johnny Sommers managed to preserve her dignity while she escorted the
visitor into the front room, and even while she asked him to sit down and
wait, but once she had closed the door behind her she cast dignity far away
and did two steps at a time going upstairs.
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