CHAPTER XXI
A SETBACK
THE arrival of Alden Payne at the station and the story which he carried caused a profound sensation. When the door was opened in response to his knock, he dropped the pouches on the floor, sat down on the nearest stool and exclaimed:
“There’s your mail; the Indians got Dick Lightfoot.”
And then as the hardy fellows gathered round him, he told the experience with which you are familiar. Even in their grief they did not forget their courtesy. He was pressed to eat, but replied that he had partaken so late in the day and was so tired that he had no appetite: all he wanted was rest. They talked a few minutes longer and then he was urged to lie down in one of the bunks. This brought the question that was on his tongue when he entered the cabin:
“What are you going to do with the mail?”
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