Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/322

 302 what I did back there in Lewisburg. I had no time in which to consider, and my only thought then was to justify my action in aiding your escape. My—my being your—your wife was the only excuse I could urge for such disloyalty. Surely you—you comprehended my purpose?"

"And appreciated the sacrifice."

"It—it was hardly that; no more than a swift impulse. I—I did not even grasp all that it might imply. I knew I must aid you; that I could do no less; but—but I did not realize then that such a choice meant that I must flee with you put myself in your protection. I—I intended to stay there—there in Lewisburg, and rely upon my friends to save me from punishment." She leaned across toward me, speaking rapidly. "I knew General Ramsay, and felt he would accept my word—the word of Major Harwood's daughter—and be just. But—but after we were free; after that soldier was left dead, I—I seemed to grasp the seriousness of my position, and—and became afraid. I—I wanted so to get away, I hardly knew my own mind. That was why I insisted on riding with you."

"And now you are sorry?"

"I—do not know," hesitatingly. "I cannot decide. Where do you take me?"