The Border Legion

But Joan fearfully retained her clasp on his arm, and when he surged

to get away she was hard put to it to hold him.

"Jim! Where are you going?"

He stood there a moment, a dark form against the night shadow, like

an outline of a man cut from black stone.

"I'll just step around--there."

"Oh, what for?" whispered Joan.

"I'm going to kill Kells."

Joan got both arms round his neck and with her head against him she

held him tightly, trying, praying to think how to meet this long-

dreaded moment. After all, what was the use to try? This was the

hour of Gold! Sacrifice, hope, courage, nobility, fidelity--these

had no place here now. Men were the embodiment of passion--ferocity.

They breathed only possession, and the thing in the balance was

death. Women were creatures to hunger and fight for, but womanhood

was nothing. Joan knew all this with a desperate hardening

certainty, and almost she gave in. Strangely, thought of Gulden

flashed up to make her again strong! Then she raised her face and

began the old pleading with Jim, but different this time, when it

seemed that absolutely all was at stake. She begged him, she

importuned him, to listen to reason, to be guided by her, to fight

the wildness that had obsessed him, to make sure that she would not

be left alone. All in vain! He swore he would kill Kells and any

other bandit who stood in the way of his leading her free out of

that cabin. He was wild to fight. He might never have felt fear of

these robbers. He would not listen to any possibility of defeat for

himself, or the possibility that in the event of Kells's death she

would be worse off. He laughed at her strange, morbid fears of

Gulden. He was immovable.

"Jim! ... Jim! You'll break my heart!" she whispered, wailingly.

"Oh! WHAT can I do?"

Then Joan released her clasp and gave up to utter defeat. Cleve was

silent. He did not seem to hear the shuddering little sobs that

shook her. Suddenly he bent close to her.

"There's one thing you can do. If you'll do it I won't kill Kells.

I'll obey your every word."

"What is it? Tell me!"

"Marry me!" he whispered, and his voice trembled.

"MARRY YOU!" exclaimed Joan. She was confounded. She began to fear

Jim was out of his head.

"I mean it. Marry me. Oh, Joan, will you--will you? It'll make the

difference. That'll steady me. Don't you want to?"