And at this the girl's face softened and grew merry.
"I'm going to help you to take Jack away," she said, "on one condition."
"That you won't make a step toward Lord Nick when he comes."
"You're unreasonable! Well, not avoid him, but simply not provoke him. I'll arrange it so that Lord Nick won't come hunting trouble."
"And he'll let Jack stay with the girl and her father?"
"Perhaps he'll persuade them to let him go of their own free will."
Donnegan thought of the colonel and smiled.
"In that case, of course, I shouldn't care at all." He added: "But do you mean all this?"
They talked only a moment longer and then Donnegan left the hall with the girl on his arm. Certainly the thoughts of all in Milligan's followed that pair; and it was seen that Donnegan took her to the door of her house and then went away through the town and up the hill. And big George followed him like a shadow cast from a lantern behind a man walking in a fog.
In the hut on the hill, Donnegan put George quickly to work, and with a door and some bedding, a litter was hastily constructed and swung between the two horses. In the meantime, Donnegan climbed higher up the hill and watched steadily over the town until, in a house beneath him, two lights were shown. He came back at that and hurried down the hill with George behind and around the houses until they came to the pretentious cabin of the gambler, Lebrun.
Once there, Donnegan went straight to an unlighted window, tapped; and it was opened from within, softly. Nelly Lebrun stood within.
"It's done," she said. "Joe and the Pedlar are sound asleep. They drank too much."
"No matter what you do, he won't wake up; but be careful of his shoulder. It's badly torn. How can you carry him?"
She could not see Donnegan's flush, but she heard his teeth grit. And he slipped through the window, gesturing to George to come close. It was still darker inside the room--far darker than the starlit night outside. And the one path of lighter gray was the bed of Jack Landis. His heavy breathing was the only sound. Donnegan kneeled beside him and worked his arms under the limp figure.
And while he kneeled there a door in the house was opened and closed softly. Donnegan stood up.