He hesitated, suddenly remembering that John North had been a frequent
guest at Idle Hour.

"I had heard that Mr. North was wanted as a witness," observed the
general.

"No, they say Moxlow had his eye on him from the start!" rejoined the
foreman with repressed enthusiasm for Moxlow.

The general sensed the enthusiasm and was affected unpleasantly by it.

"It would be a great pity if Mr. Moxlow should be so unfortunate as to
make a fool of himself!" he commented with unusual acidity. "What else
did you hear?"

"Not much, General, only just what I've told you--that they've arrested
North, and that young Watt Harbison's been trying to get him out on
bail, but they've refused to accept bond in his case. Don't that look
like they thought the evidence was pretty strong against him--"

"Well, they, might have arrested you or me," said the general. "That
signifies nothing."

He moved off in the direction of the house, and Thompson, after a
backward glance at his retreating figure, entered the barn. Out of sight
of his foreman, the general's sturdy pace lagged. That young man had
been at Idle Hour entirely too often; he had thought so all along, and
now he was very sure of it!