Part 30 (2/2)
”This moment, sir, you did, and you know you did. My arm is bleeding now.”
She spoke rapidly in French; but he caught her meaning, and for the first became aware of the rapier in his hand. Even then its point was toward her and very near her breast. He lowered it instantly while the truth rushed into his mind.
”Forgive me,” he murmured, his words barely audible in the tumult of wind and rain, but charged with the intensest feeling.
”Forgive me; I did not know--it was an accident--I could not do such a thing purposely. Believe me, believe me, Miss Roussillon. I did not mean it.”
She stood facing him, trying to look right into his eyes. A quality in his voice had checked her hot anger. She could only see his dim outlines in the dull gleam from the fort's lantern. He seemed to be forlornly wretched.
”I should like to believe you,” she presently said, ”but I cannot. You English are all, all despicable, mean, vile!”
She was remembering the young officer who had a.s.saulted her with his sword in the house a while ago. And (what a strange thing the human brain is!) she at the same time comforted herself with the further thought that Beverley would never, never, be guilty of rudeness to a woman.
”Some time you shall not say that,” Farnsworth responded. ”I asked you to stop a moment that I might beg you to believe how wretchedly sorry I am for what I am doing. But you cannot understand me now. Are you really hurt, Miss Roussillon? I a.s.sure you that it was purely accidental.”
”My hurt is nothing,” she said.
”I am very glad.”
”Well, then, shall we go on to the fort?”
”You may go where you please, Mademoiselle.”
She turned her back upon him and without an answering word walked straight to the lantern that hung by the gate of the stockade, where a sentinel tramped to and fro. A few moments later Captain Farnsworth presented her to Hamilton, who had been called from his bed when the news of the trouble at Roussillon place reached the fort.
”So you've been raising h.e.l.l again, have you, Miss?” he growled, with an ugly frown darkening his face.
”I beg your pardon,” said Farnsworth, ”Miss Roussillon was not to blame for--”
”In your eyes she'd not be to blame, sir, if she burned up the fort and all of us in it,” Hamilton gruffly interrupted. ”Miss, what have you been doing? What are you here for? Captain Farnsworth, you will please state the particulars of the trouble that I have just heard about. And I may as well notify you that I wish to hear no special lover's pleading in this girl's behalf.”
Farnsworth's face whitened with anger; he bit his lip and a s.h.i.+ver ran through his frame; but he had to conquer the pa.s.sion. In a few words, blunt and direct as musket-b.a.l.l.s, he told all the circ.u.mstances of what had taken place, making no concealments to favor Alice, but boldly blaming the officer of the patrol, Lieutenant Barlow, for losing his head and attacking a young girl in her own home.
”I will hear from Barlow,” said Hamilton, after listening attentively to the story. ”But take this girl and confine her. Show her no favors.
I hold you responsible for her until to-morrow morning. You can retire.”
There was no room for discussion. Farnsworth saluted and turned to Alice.
”Come with me,” he gently said.
Hamilton looked after them as they went out of his room, a curious smile playing around his firmly set lips.
”She's the most beautiful vixen that I ever saw,” he thought. ”She doesn't look to be a French girl, either--decidedly English.” He shrugged his shoulders, then laughed dryly. ”Farnsworth's as crazy as can be, the beggar; in love with her so deep that he can't see out. By Jove, she IS a beauty! Never saw such eyes. And plucky to beat the devil. I'll bet my head Barlow'll be daft about her next!”
Still, notwithstanding the lightness of his inward comments, Hamilton regarded the incident as rather serious. He knew that the French inhabitants were secretly his bitter enemies, yet probably willing, if he would humor their peculiar social, domestic and commercial prejudices, to refrain from active hostilities, and even to aid him in furnis.h.i.+ng his garrison with a large amount of needed supplies. The danger just now was twofold; his Indian allies were deserting him, and a flotilla loaded with provisions and ammunition from Detroit had failed to arrive. He might, if the French rose against him and were joined by the Indians, have great difficulty defending the fort. It was clear that M. Roussillon had more influence with both creoles and savages than any other person save Father Beret. Urgent policy dictated that these two men should somehow be won over. But to do this it would be necessary to treat Alice in such a way that her arrest would aid, instead of operating against the desired result,--a thing not easy to manage.
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