CHAPTER II.
PERSIMMON BILL.
As soon as the auburn-haired man who called himself Jack had left the German restaurant, he went to a livery-stable near by, called for his own horse, which was kept there, and the instant it was saddled he mounted, and at a gallop rode westward from the town.
He did not draw rein for full an hour, and then he had covered somewhere between eight and ten miles of ground, following no course or trail, but riding in a course as straight as the flight of an arrow.
He halted then in a small ravine, nearly hidden by a growth of thick brush, and gave a peculiar whistle.

Thrice had this sounded, when a man came cautiously out of the ravine, or rather out of its mouth.

He was tall, slender, yet seemed to possess the bone and muscle of a giant.

His eyes were jet black, fierce and flashing, and his face had a stern, almost classic beauty of feature, which would have made him a model in the ancient age of sculpture.

He carried a repeating rifle, two revolvers, and a knife in his belt.