Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/197

 Rh though more than half convinced he was being made a fool of. The girl had seated herself in a chair, and was leaning forward, her face hidden. The lieutenant turned and strode across the room, glancing out the window; then back again.

"Well, we cannot remain here discussing the matter," he said tartly. "If we do we may have a real fight on our hands before we are safely back in Lewisburg." He planted himself squarely in front of me. "See here, it is time you did some talking. You haven't opened your mouth yet."

"There has been no occasion," I replied pleasantly. "The others have told all you need to know without my even being questioned."

"I have a mind to search you," he retorted, completely losing his temper.

"At your pleasure, Lieutenant," I spoke coldly enough, although there was a catch in my throat at sudden memory of the paper I bore containing his name. "And there is no guessing what you might find in Lieutenant Harwood's uniform."

We were still looking defiantly at each other's eyes, and it began to occur to me that his evident dislike must have some other basis than a mere suspicion that I might be a Confederate spy. Did it arise rather because of my apparent friendliness with Noreen Harwood, and her swift words of defense?