Page:Randall Parrish--My Lady of the South.djvu/161

AGAIN A PRISONER breathing of the startled group. I sought to read the expression on the face of the girl beside me, but her hands were pressed to her eyes, her form trembling. Then Donald stepped to the open doorway, blocking the only egress from the room.

"Calvert," he said in stern tone of command, "go up stairs, and verify his story. Lieutenant King will remain where he is until your return."

As young Dunn hastily left the room I turned to meet the deep-set eyes of his father.

"Why did n't you go out that window also?" he asked bluntly, "you could probably have escaped."

"Yes," I answered, "and you would have believed forever that I was the murderer."

"That would n't have hurt you any; the killing of one of the enemy by a scout in time of war is not considered murder. Your army would have protected you "

"I am not that kind of a man, Judge Dunn."

"I don't know what sort you may be," he returned slowly, "but in this case it seems to me you are either a fool, or a wise knave, and there is not a very wide difference between the two. You evidently expect this voluntary surrender will clear you of all suspicion."

"No; it simply means I intend to remain, and face the suspicion. The man upstairs was killed by a knife thrust; I possess no knife. The one who killed him dropped from the window, leaving his bloody finger marks on the sill. The morning will reveal his imprint on the ground beneath. Had I followed, I might have been considered guilty, but the real murderer has left a trail proving it [ 151 ]