Upon his return to the house, Jim found Flora alone in the old kitchen preparing supper. Peter Ducat had retired to bed with his rheumatism, Mrs. Ducat was upstairs rubbing his tortured joints with liniment, and the grandfathers were out at the barn. Flora turned from the stove on the instant of Jim's entrance and advanced swiftly to meet him. Her face was pale and her eyes were even brighter than usual. "You must go right away!" she whispered. "No, rest a few minutes--and then travel fast. I have grub all packed, and your rifle and ammunition ready, and blankets, and a compass. Sit down and rest!" "But what's the rush?" he asked staring at her. "I promised to wait here for Mark. I can't carry the whole outfit--traps and all." "You must go west, not north," she replied. "They'll look for you at Kettle Pond. I've planned it all out. Don't stand there like a booby! Sit down and rest while you can." "What's it all about? You don't seem yourself, Flora." "Don't be a fool! Homer Steeves has been here. He saw Amos Hammond. Met him on the road and drove him home." "My dear girl, what are you talking about?" Flora's eyes filled with tears. "You can't fool me!" she cried. "I don't want to fool you. Why should I fool you?" "Will you go away then, and hide in the woods?" "I'll go away, if you want me to particularly, but I won't hide. That's flat! Why should I hide? From Amos Hammond, do you mean?" "Yes--and well you know it! He was still alive when Homer got him to the village, but he may be dead by now! Murder is what the law will call it, however much he deserved to be killed. You didn't tell about meeting him this morning--and now I know why." "Dead! Murder! Are you crazy? I didn't hurt him. I rolled him about in the snow a bit and slapped his lying face and then threw him back into his sleigh. He drove off all right. I didn't even land him one good crack. I didn't tell you about it because it wasn't worth telling." "But he is shot! Homer was on the road--quite a piece behind you. He saw Hammond coming, and then he heard a gun. Hammond was all blood when he got to him, and he took him home. So what's the good of bluffing, Jim? You must go, quick!" "I heard a shot, too! I thought he'd taken a wild one at me for knocking him about, so I kept right on." "Please don't, Jim. Please shut up and get out of here before the sheriff comes looking for you." "I'll do nothing of the kind. I didn't shoot the old rube, so why should I run away and hide? I'm not ashamed of what I did do to him, and the sheriff is welcome to the whole story. Flora, do you think I would shoot a man? I didn't return his fire even that night he was blazing away at me." "But--who shot him, if you didn't?" "I don't know." "The law will fasten it onto you, so you must hide! You threatened him one day before Sheriff Hart. How can you prove your innocence?"