Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/183

 Rh her desperation, in the extreme of her terror, would she grasp at such a straw? There was nothing else—not another chance. This might not be one—yet it would surely serve to delay; it would place me in between her and Anse Cowan. He could only reach her over my dead body; for the moment, at least, it would block his plan. She could not legally marry him, if she was once my wife! Of course the man might not hesitate in his mad anger, even at murder—yet again it was possible that my uniform would save me—the troops at Lewisburg were not far away; fear of them might make the villain cautious. It was a chance—a desperate, reckless chance—and no more! But the thought—crazy as it was—flashed instantaneously through my brain; took possession of me. Only the girl whose eyes just then met mine—

"I—I have thought of one way," I said eagerly, the words coming forth almost incoherent. "That is if you will listen to what I propose. There is nothing else feasible so far as I can see. They—they are in the front rooms now—hear them! We haven't a moment to lose. Will you—will you consent to marry me?"

She shrank back a step, staring at me with wide-opened eyes, breathing heavily.

"Marry! marry you?" she faltered wildly.