"
"At another time and in a calmer mood we will discuss that villain,"
he said authoritatively. "If we argue the matter now, we are liable
to misunderstandings; we may quarrel, and that is something neither
of us can afford. Get into the car, and we will go home. There is
nothing more to be done to-night."
"Your sophistry does not alter my opinion," she replied firmly.
"However, as you say, this is neither the time nor the place to
discuss it."
They drove home in silence. Shirley went at once to her room. For the
Colonel, however, the night's work had scarcely begun. The instant he
heard the door to his niece's room shut, he went to the telephone and
called up the Laguna Grande roundhouse. Sexton, his manager,
answered.
"Have you sent the switch-engine to the woods for Rondeau and his
men?"
"Just left."
"Good! Now, then, Sexton, listen to me: As you know, this raid of
Cardigan's has developed so suddenly I am more or less taken by
surprise and have had no time to prepare the kind of counter-attack
that will be most effective. However, with the crossing blocked, I
gain time in which to organize--only there must be no weak point in
my organization. In order to insure that, I am proceeding to San
Francisco to-night by motor, via the coast road.
Pages:
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367