Page:Randall Parrish--My Lady of the South.djvu/129

WITH JEAN DENSLOW rising and falling of her bosom, but her unflinching eyes were upon mine.

"Where are your men?" she questioned suddenly.

Just across the valley."

"Are you hunting this—this man you call Big Donald?"

"We should like to find him."

"For what purpose?"

"Suppose I should say an exchange of prisoners?"

The blue-gray eyes hardened, and she stood more erect, her hand dropping to her side.

"Then I should say you lied also," she returned coldly. "But we only play at cross-purposes; if you really wish to question me, why not begin?"

"I have begun, but with no very encouraging results. However I will attempt an advance from another direction. Whose house is this?"

"You know already—it is Judge Dunn's plantation, 'Fairview.

"Are you his daughter?"

"No; merely a guest."

"Of whom does the family consist?"

She hesitated, biting her lips.

"Why do you ask all this? Are you gallantly contemplating an attack on the house?"

"No," I said, "we are soldiers, not guerillas. I confess it is curiosity more than anything else, and—because I like to talk with you."

"With me, indeed! You have the insolence of the North." [ 119 ]