"
"Mr. Knapp's work--" I began.
"Oh, of course I don't expect you to tell me about that. I know Mr.
Knapp, and you're as close-mouthed as he, even when he's away."
"I should tell you anything of my own, but, of course, another's--"
"I understand." Mrs. Knapp, sitting with hands clasped in her lap, gave
me a quick look. "But there was something else. You were telling me
about your adventures, you remember. You told me two or three weeks ago
about the way you tricked Darby Meeker and sent him to Sierra City."
And she smiled at the recollection of Darby Meeker's discomfiture.
"Oh, yes," I said, with a laugh that sounded distressingly hollow to my
ears. "That was a capital joke on Meeker."
Here was a fine pack of predicaments loosed on my trail. It was with an
effort that I kept my countenance, and the cold sweat started on my
forehead. How much had Henry told of his business? Had he touched on it
lightly, humorously, or had he given a full account of his adventures
to the wife of the man with whose secrets he was concerned, and whose
evil plans had brought him to his death? The questions flashed through
my mind in the instant that followed Mrs. Knapp's speech.
"How did it turn out?" asked Mrs. Knapp with lively interest. "Did he
get back?"
I decided promptly on a judicious amount of the truth.
"Yes, he got back, boiling with wrath, and loaded to the guards with
threats--that is, I heard so from my men. I didn't see him myself, or
you might have found the rest of it in the newspaper.
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