"I will if I can," he answered. There was an excited smoulder in the

stars under the dull gold that made me restless and my eyes sought and

claimed his for a second in which a quick flash of the jeweled

tenderness of comprehension was flashed into my depths.

"Good-bye, everybody," he said, and in a second was out of the dining

room and we could hear him running down the steps.

"Oh, dear, if he just wasn't a preacher," sighed Harriet. "I suppose

somebody in the Settlement is dead or borned or drunk, and he has to go

and see about it. I wish--"

"Great Jehovah!" exclaimed Billy, as he suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Ensley is fighting drunk and has the gang around the Last Chance.

Parson's life isn't worth a tinker's damn if he runs foul of them with

all that talk about Martha Ensley and Jacob's threat. She came back last

night and Goodloe threatened to have Jacob arrested for beating her.

Come on, Nickols, and let's follow him. We'll be enough. The rest of you

go on eating, drinking and merrying because old Mark was born. We'll

come right back just as soon as we see that all is serene on the Potomac

of the Last Chance." And with a last hasty gulp at his wine glass Billy

followed Nickols out of the room. Nickols was both white and livid and

the expression of his face frightened me, for I knew that Billy would

minimize any kind of danger in the presence of a woman while Nickols

would not take that trouble.

It was with a queer breathlessness that we all sat before our wine

glasses in the midst of the perfume from the rich food and dying flowers

and waited--for what we didn't know.

Then it came!

A shot rang out clear and clean in the darkness and was quickly followed

by three barking echoes from a repeater.

And there seated in my chair in the brilliantly lighted room, blocks

away from the scene, I felt a bullet thud against dull gold.




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