“Are ye of the west of Ireland, Captain McHale?”
“I thought so. When ye see an Irishman wid straw colored hair and blue eyes he’s always a sailor. There’s some of the blood of the old Vikings in ye all. King Brian beat the Danes at Clontarf, but he didn’t drive them all out of the land. And if ye went back far enough, McHale, I’ll go bail ye’d find your ancestors wid winged helmets on the heads of them and beards a foot long.”
“Maybe so,” said he. “I’ll not be denying it.”
After they had ridden together for some minutes, Ethan asked:
“Have you seen anything of a carriage on the road, Captain McHale?”
“I have. One passed me some hours ago. A fat Frenchman in it demanded the road of me and flew into a rage because I would not leap me horse into a ditch to accommodate him. He seemed to be in a great hurry, so he did.”
The seaman looked from one to the other questioningly.
“Ye are wanting this gentleman, then?” asked he.
“We are,” said Longsword. “And we’re wanting him more than we ever wanted anything in our lives before.”
“It’s not likely, if he is hours ahead of us.”
“One of his horses had a limp; I think it had cast a shoe. This was the real cause of the Frenchman’s anger, I think.” The speaker looked from one to the other once more. “Does he know that ye are after him, may I ask?”
“Well, he’s running no risks, faith, and is making the best of his time on the road.”
Night came on and they put up at a quiet little place upon the edge of the forest through which they had been passing.
“Yes,” replied the landlord to Ethan’s question, “a stout gentleman passed in a carriage some time ago. He was very angry because I had no horse to give him. One of his was lame, I think, and when he drove off, he went at a very slow pace.”
“We’ll overtake him in the morning,” said Longsword in English. “If his horse was as badly lamed as all that he’ll be forced to put up before he reaches the next town where he can get relays.”
“We will be on the road by daylight,” said the young American. “If our horses could stand it I’d be in favor of pressing on to-night.”
Next morning while the pale moon was still lighting up the snowy countryside they were stirring; a quick breakfast and then they climbed into their saddles and were off.