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 Rh  to send me to headquarters at Charleston, or hold me under guard to await the arrival of some higher officer. Fox, I felt convinced, would use whatever influence he possessed to delay action, and there was a faint hope in my mind also that Noreen might even make a plea to higher authorities in my behalf. I dare not believe she would, but the vague dream of such a thing recurred again and again to my mind.

Of course I had no conception that her thought centered on me, or that there was any depth of personal feeling in the slight interest she had already displayed by her request to Captain Fox. This was no more than the natural expression of a tenderhearted woman. We had been playmates and friends; this fact alone was sufficient to justify an effort on her part to prevent my dying an ignominious death. Besides, my capture had occurred through an attempt to serve her. This was her plea for me, and no other; this was the excuse with which she justified her interest in the case. The fact that she was legally my wife was to be kept secret—was to be forgotten forever, if possible. At first she had been frightened at the situation, fearful lest I urge our relationship as an excuse for being with her; but now she was reassured by my silence. Believing the secret safe in my keeping she was willing to venture a word in my behalf, actuated by dictates of humanity.