Soldier of the Horse Read Online Free Page A

address to the House of Lords. “Kravenko used the gun to subdue the guards. He locked them in a storage room and climbed to the roof. Once there, he let himself down the outside of the jail, but the rope, which had also been smuggled in, parted when he was halfway down.”
    Tom would have laughed aloud if he hadn’t been in jail himself. Jack Kravenko, the scourge of the entire province of Manitoba, the man who had eluded and taunted the police for months, had taken a pratfall while escaping jail. Tom was almost afraid to ask. “What kind of gun did Bloody Jack have? Where did he get it?”
    â€œI don’t know. But I fear the worst.”
    â€œMeaning it was smuggled in by Henry Zink?”
    â€œPrecisely.”
    Tom’s mind raced. Henry Zink, Bloody Jack’s lawyer, had been arrested, presumably due to the jailbreak. Tom had been arrested, linked to the escape by the simple fact that he worked for Zink, but not only that: Tom, and others, had often met with Kravenko in his cell. And somehow a gun had ended up in Bloody Jack’s possession.
    â€œUnfortunately, for Kravenko and perhaps for others,” Evans continued, “he appears to have been injured in the fall. Even so, he hobbled off and made good his escape, although he dropped the gun at the scene.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, unfortunate for him ‘and perhaps for others’?” Tom asked. A thought flashed through his mind: too bad Jack hadn’t broken his neck; it would save the government the hangman’s fee. But that was no way for a student lawyer to think.
    â€œWhat I mean, Mr. Macrae, is that if and when the police capture Kravenko, they will take a statement from him. Who knows what he will say in an effort to gain some advantage?” Evans gave Tom a searching glance. “And that could affect a lot of people. I must also tell you that your employer, Henry Zink, is under arrest.”
    â€œI know Henry was arrested. We shared accommodation last night.” Tom mulled over what Evans had said. “Just a minute,” he cried, relief in his voice. The words rushed out. “You. You were in the cell with Bloody Jack and Zink and me before his escape. We all carried briefcases. I was the first to leave, and I took my briefcase with me.” He stopped. He had been about to say that, for all he knew, Zink or Evans could have smuggled in the gun. He didn’t trust Zink, but he did not want to come to the same conclusion about John Evans.
    As if he read Tom’s mind, Evans said, “I do recall you leaving, but for some reason you were not signed out. I was. So was Zink, later on. So I have corroboration that Henry was in with Bloody Jack, after I left. You don’t have that corroboration. My evidence would help you, but that makes me a witness, so I can’t act as your lawyer in any formal way.”
    Again Tom desperately cudgelled his memory. Why had he not signed out of the jail after the meeting with Evans, Zink, and Bloody Jack? And who knew what story Zink was concocting to clear his name while implicating Tom? His mind rocked with an image of himself once again behind bars.
    â€œI’ve got to get out of this.” His voice cracked. He felt like ramming his head against the wall.
    Evans spoke quietly. “There is something we can do.”
    Tom looked at him.
    â€œJudge Paterson of the appeal court has taken a personal interest in your case. I know him well and have arranged an interview with him.” He pulled his watch out of his waistcoat pocket. “He’s waiting for us now.”
    Tom had nothing to lose. Evans led the way out of the room and down the hall to the judge’s chambers, policemen pacing behind them. He knocked on a door, and one of the constables put his hand on Tom’s arm.
    â€œCome,” reverberated a muffled voice from inside.
    Evans opened the door, and Tom and the policemen followed him in. Seated in front of a large