Page:The Road to Monterey (1925).pdf/353

 Henderson and Felipe watched this little passage between the two at the gate, Felipe with hand on his pistol.

"Let the double traitor start to leave!" he said.

Simon closed the gate behind Roberto, and turned again with as much show of ease and loyalty in his bearing as he could assume before the two who watched him, and read what was in his tricky mind.

"It would not give Roberto much grief to see his father hanging from a tree," Henderson said, looking after the young man as he rode swiftly between the olive trees.

"Nothing would please him better, although he would make it a pretense to cover his personal hate against you if you stumbled into his hands," Felipe returned. "He has been chafing over money since he came home from the capital; he was called back on account of his extravagance there. Roberto has wild desires which Don Abrahan refuses him the means to indulge."

"That angle of the case is to be considered," said Henderson, thoughtfully.

They were returning slowly to the place where the cannon stood. Old Pablo was emerging from the passage in the warehouse through which Henderson had made his dash to liberty on the day he broke from Don Abrahan's prison. Pablo had hidden Benito there, out of the danger of bullets.

"What do you think of Roberto's declaration that there is nothing in the news from Monterey?"