Page:By Sanction of Law.pdf/356

 suddenly Lida halted. Her breath stopped—her face blanched. Bennet turned to her alarmed.

"What is it?—What's the matter.—Tell me. Quick."

Before Lida could answer, Elvin Lauriston, eyes blazing with fury, his revolver raised and pointed at Bennet, stepped from behind a pine tree they were approaching, not ten feet away. Lida had seen him peering from behind the tree and had seen him raise the revolver. She prepared to throw herself in front of her lover. Bennet anticipated this and while the revolver was still raised and aimed at him stepped to the front of the girl holding her hand firmly so she could not make effort to save him, and—looked into eternity. He could feel the tremor of the girl's hand in his and felt her breathing close to his arm.

"Needn't pull her behind you.—I'm going to kill you both," Elvin warned. Bennet still gazed from the nozzle of the revolver to Lauriston. "You coward," Elvin continued. "You come down here where you're not wanted and try to take my sister away from her people. Sneaking in like a snake in the grass."

Bennet decided not to interrupt him, knowing that the longer Elvin talked the more time he would be given to map out a plan of action and the less likely Lauriston would be to shoot.

"Yes," he continued, "we shoot snakes like you in cold blood. You thought to take my sister away. You thought to get yourself-into our family. She could not see it. I'm going to spoil your little game. No sister of mine will ever marry a man of your blood."