Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/324

 304 her breathing noticeably rapid. I waited, not knowing what else to add, and was about to propose her lying down, when she spoke suddenly:

"You mean our—our separation?"

"Certainly. That can be easily arranged as soon as the courts are again in session. Possibly the ceremony was not even legal without witnesses, but, under the circumstances, it had better be dissolved in court. Such action would remove all doubt from your mind."

"Yes—I suppose so; you—you make it very clear. And that would have to be done in Green Briar?—the—the action for divorce?"

"At Lewisburg; not necessarily, of course, but I supposed you would rather have the facts made known there, so that your friends can realize all the conditions—the cause, I mean. Possibly you may not need to do this."

"Not need! Why?"

"A soldier never knows what another minute means; I am a soldier."

"Oh! you should not say that!"

"It is part of the trade; I had no thought of hurting you, yet the bullet to set you free may be even now in a Federal cartridge box." She did not look at me, or move, although I thought the hand resting on the grass trembled.