Frontier and pioneer life -- Indiana -- Fiction; Historical fiction
He stared at her in astonishment. He saw that she was in earnest,
desperately in earnest. Choking back the words that had rushed to
his lips, he got up from his chair and bent his head gravely.
"Yes, if it is any comfort to you, Rachel Carter," he said, acute
pity in his eyes. "I cannot resist saying, however, that you have
not spared yourself. It cost you a great deal to pay one of the
debts he left for you to settle. I shall not forget it."
She arose and all the humility fell away from her. Once more she
was the strong, indomitable,--even formidable,--figure he had come
to know so well. Her bosom swelled, her shoulders straightened,
and into her deep-set, sombre eyes came the unflinching light of
determination.
"Then we are done with that," she said quietly. "I have asked no
favours save this last one for myself,--but it is a greater one than
you may think. You know everything now, Kenneth. You have called
me Rachel Carter. Was it divination or was it stubborn memory?
I wonder. So far as I know, you are the only person left in the
world who knows that I was not his wife, the only one who knows
that I am still Rachel Carter. No matter what this man Braley may
know, or what he may tell, he--But we are wasting time. Viola must
be wondering. Now as to this plan of Barry Lapelle's. I think I
can safely assure you that nothing will come of it."
"Then, you knew about it before I told you?" he exclaimed.
"No. You brought me word of Jasper Suggs this morning. You said he
was staying at Martin Hawk's cabin. You may have forgotten what I
said to you at the time. Now you bring me word that Barry Lapelle's
plot was hatched at Martin Hawk's. Well, this afternoon I went to
the Court House and swore out a warrant charging Martin Hawk with
stealing some of my yearling calves and sheep. That warrant is now
in the hands of the sheriff. It will be served before another day
is gone."
"That's pretty sharp work," he said, but still a little puzzled.
"Naturally it will upset Barry's plans, but Suggs is still to be
accounted for. You mentioned something about charging him with a
murder back in--"
"I guess that can wait till another day," said she, with a smile
that he did not quite understand. "It would be rather stupid of
me, don't you think, to have him arrested?"
"You said he was not the kind of a man to be taken alive," he
remarked, knitting his brows.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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