Page 57 (1/1)

If ever Kent's hands had itched to get at the throat of a huers now At the moment when he was about to act Mercer had betrayed him to Kedsty! He turned his face away so that Mercer could not see as in his eyes Under his body he concealed his clenched hands Within hi in his blood, the desire to leap on Mercer and kill hian had reported his condition to Kedsty, it would have been different He would have accepted the report as a an's part But Mercer--a toad blown up by his oind, a consummate fiend ould sell his best friend, a fool, an ass-For a space he held hiid as a stone, his face turned away from Mercer His better sense won He knew that his last chance depended upon his coolness now And Mercer unwittingly helped hi the roouard outside the door

He sat up then It was five o'clock How long ago was it that Mercer had seen Kedsty? What was the order that the Inspector had written on a sheet of paper for Constable Pelly? Was it simply that he should be more closely watched, or was it a command to move him to one of the cells close to the detachment office? If it was the latter, all his hopes and plans were destroyed Hishad no jail, not even a guard-house, though the members of the force sometimes spoke of the cells just behind Inspector Kedsty's office by that name The cells were of cement, and Kent hi did not strike hi the fact that no prisoner had ever escaped from those cement cells If no action were taken before six o'clock, he was sure that it would be postponed until the followingIt was possible that Kedsty's order was for Pelly to prepare a cell for him Deep in his soul he prayed fervently that it was only a ht--just one!

His watch tinkled the half-hour Then a quarter of six Then six His blood ran feverishly, in spite of the fact that he possessed the reputation of being the coolest ar and smoked it slowly to cover the suspense which he feared revealed itself in his face, should any one coht it would begin to get dusk The ht, and it would not appear over the forests until after eleven He would go through hisat ten o'clock His mind worked swiftly and surely as to the ht There were always a number of boats down at Crossen's place He would start in one of these, and by the tione, he would be forty miles on his way to freedom Then he would set his boat adrift, or hide it, and start cross-country until his trail was lost Souns and food It was fortunate that he had not given Mercer the other fifty dollars under his pillow