Page:Hornung - Irralies Bushranger.djvu/42

 "Why did you do it?" he cried unwarily.

"You may well ask! Goodness knows—not I!"

"But I have lost a coat," he added, vehemently, perceiving his mistake. "I give you my word I lost one to-day; and those papers were in it as certainly as that moon is in the sky. You may believe or doubt it as you like. It is the case, and you will know it by and by. What else is there suspicious about me?"

Evidently he had forgotten his revolver; but Irralie knew that it was in his pocket still, though she did not intend to remind him of that. His tone was both angry and injured, but the injury appealed to her more than the anger. It destroyed her self-confidence, and, in doing so, restored some confidence in him. Then she recalled her earliest prejudicial observation, and smiled at her momentary misgivings.

"There was your horse!" said she—and saw him wince at the word.