Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/277

 Rh expose you to terrible danger. Think of the days and nights of travel, of hiding and exposure, before I can hope to attain the safety of the Confederate lines; and there is no need of such a sacrifice—you will be perfectly safe here."

"How will I be safe here?" she asked indignantly. "Do you suppose they will spare me, merely because I am a woman? This has not been done in secret; there are too many who know my part in your escape to ever keep the truth hidden. Colonel Pickney will have to make his report, and shield himself from blame. There is not an officer here who will stand openly in my defense, unless it be Captain Fox, and he could not help me. Is it under such conditions you desire I remain here?"

"But do you realize what going with me will inevitably mean?"

"Yes, I realize—not only the peril and hardship, but every issue involved. I made my choice back in the courthouse. It is too late to withdraw."

She paused as though unable to find expression, breathing heavily, and her face sank until I could no longer see her eyes.

"When—when I told Colonel Pickney that—that you were my husband," she faltered, driven to it by my continued silence, "I spoke hastily, it is true; for my only thought just then was the necessity