"You don't mean to say you're after him?"
"Yes, he took breakfast here only an hour ago. Son of yours?"
"Yes; he's been acting badly, and I suppose he thought I was going to punish him; so the young rascal took to his heels."
"Sho! you don't say so! He paid for his breakfast all right."
"You can judge how he came by his money," said Mr. Huxter.
"You don't say so! Well, he is a bad case," said the landlord, who concluded, as it was intended he should, that John had stolen the money. "Well, he don't look like it."
"Oh, he's a deep young rascal!" said Mr. Huxter. "You'd think butter wouldn't melt in his mouth; but he's a regular scamp. Which road did he take?"
"Less than half an hour ago. He can't have got much over a mile. If you keep on, you'll be sure to overhaul him."
"I'll do that with a vengeance," said Mr. Huxter.
"Thank you for your information, Mr. Jones. I'll do as much for you some time."
"All right. Stop on the way back, won't you?"
"Well, I don't know but I will. I only took a mouthful of breakfast, I was in such a hurry to pursue this young scamp."
"Well, it's an ill wind that blows nobody good," thought the landlord. "The boy's running away has brought me two customers. I had no idea he was such a young rascal."
"I might as well get a good breakfast," soliloquized Mr. Huxter. "I can charge it to Jane. She can't expect me to chase John Oakley over hill and dale on an empty stomach!"
Mr. Huxter began to indulge in pleasing anticipations of what he would do to John when he had captured him, forgetting the good old rule, that before cooking a hare you must catch him.
Meanwhile John was plodding along at a moderate pace. He had no idea of the danger that menaced him. He was now ten or eleven miles away from Jackson, and this gave him a feeling of security; not that the distance was so great, but that, of the many directions in which he might have gone, he saw no reason to think that Mr. Huxter would be likely to guess the right one.
On the whole, John felt in very good spirits. It was a bright, pleasant morning in September, with a clear, bracing air, that lent vigor to his steps. He decided to stop in Redport until after dinner, and then inquire his way more particularly. He determined to take the stage or cars, if he found any that ran across to Wilton. The expense would not be any greater, probably, than the cost of the meal and lodging for which, if he walked, he would be obliged to pay at the country inns.