Come on; I'm goin'." "Not me; this town is too near Fort Hays; I'm liable to run into some of the fellows." A chair scraped across the floor as Bill arose to his feet; evidently from the noise he had been drinking, but Keith heard him lift the latch of the door.
"All right, Willoughby," he said, thickly, "I'll try my luck, an' if I see Bart I'll tell him yer here.

So long." He shuffled along the hall and went, half sliding, down stairs, and Keith distinguished the click of glass and bottle in the next room.
He was sitting up in bed now, wide awake, obsessed with a desire to investigate.

The reference overheard must have been to Hawley, and if so, this Willoughby, who was afraid of meeting soldiers from the fort, would be the deserter Miss Hope was seeking.

There could be no harm in making sure, and he slipped into his clothes, and as silently as possible, unlatched his door.

There was a noisy crowd at the farther end of the hall, and the sound of some one laboriously mounting the stairs.
Not desiring to be seen, Keith slipped swiftly toward the door of the other room, and tried the latch.