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Stolliver and his two boys were sitting out on the front fence, having emerged from the house only a moment before. They had been working in the fields until past sundown, and had just risen from a late supper. Old Stolliver was in the habit of smoking a pipe every night after his evening meal, and in pleasant weather he generally chose to smoke it out of doors, as he was doing this evening, although the darkness had fallen. Lapierre, as he drew rein, saw the three figures on the fence, but could not in the darkness, distinguish one from, another.

“Is that Mister Stollifer?” he asked.

“Yes; who be you ?” was the ungracious response, delivered in a gruff tone of voice. Old Stolliver was a boorish, cross-grained customer, who paid slight regard to the amenities, and did not show to advantage in conversation.

“Don’t you know me? I am Mister Lapierre.”

“O, Mr. Lapierre, eh? Been a warm day.”

“Yes. Hass Mister Safareen gone?”

“Mister who?”

“Mister Safareen. Wass he not here shoost now?”

“Here? What fur?”

The landlord was by this time beginning to feel a little disgusted at the man’s boorish incivility. “Will you pe so coot as to tell me,” he asked, “if Mister Safareen hass peen here?”

“Not as I know of. Hain’t seen him.”

Lapierre was astounded. He explained the state of affairs to his interlocuter, who received the communication with his wonted stolidity, and proceeded to light his pipe, as much as to say that the affair was none of his funeral.

“Well,” he remarked, with exasperating coolness, “I guess you must ‘a’ passed him on the road. We hain’t been out here more’n a minute or two. Nobody hain’t passed since then.”

This seemed incredible. Where, then, was Savareen? Had he sunk into the bowels of the earth, or gone up, black mare and all, in a balloon? Of course it was all nonsense about the landlord having passed him on the road without seeing or hearing anything of him. But what other explanation did the circumstances admit of? At any rate, there was nothing for Lapierre to do but ride back to Savareen’s house and see if he had arrived there. Yes, one other thing might be done. He might return to the toll gate and ascertain whether Jonathan Perry was certain as to the identity of the man from whom he had parted a few minutes before. So Count Frontenac’s head was once more turned southward. A short trot brought him again to the toll-house. The gatekeeper was still sitting smoking at the door. A moment’s conference with him was sufficient to convince Lapierre that there could be no question of mistaken identity. “Why,” said Jonathan, “I know Mr. Savareen as well as I know my right hand. And then, didn’t he tell me about his row with Shuttleworth, and that he had the four hundred pounds in his pocket. Why, dark as it was, I noticed the scar on his cheek when he was talking about it.–I say, Missus, look here,” he called in a louder tone, whereupon his wife presented herself at the threshold. “Now,” resumed the old man, “just tell Mr. Lapierre whether you saw Mr. Savareen talking to me a few minutes since, and whether you saw him ride off up the road just before Mr. Lapierre came down. Did you, or did you not?”

Mrs. Perry’s answer was decisive, and at the same time conclusive as to the facts. She had not only seen Savareen sitting on his black mare at the door, immediately after the town bell ceased ringing for eight o’clock; but she had listened to the conversation between him and her husband, and had heard pretty nearly every word. Lapierre cross examined her, and found that her report of the interview exactly corresponded with what he had already heard from old Jonathan. “Why,” said she, “there is no more doubt of its being Mr. Savareen than there is of that gate-post being there on the road-side. ‘Very good advice it is,’ says he, ‘and I’ll act upon it without more words.’ Then he said ‘good night,’ and off he went up the road. Depend upon it, Mr. Lapierre, you’ve missed him somehow in the darkness, and he’s safe and sound at home by this time.”