e grip of
whatever emotion was playing upon her nerves he could not tell.

"Don't you know that I mean what I say? That I can kill you, that I
will kill you if you dare insult me further?"

"I know only one thing," he told her, his voice sterner than she had
heard it before. "The King of Fools has put a mad desire into my
brain. And you have helped him. I am always ready to pay for whatever
I get and I am not used to haggling over the price."

"I have told you that I would kill you if you dared!" she flashed the
words at him.

"And I," he retorted coolly, "told you that I'd kiss you if you dared
come with me. Were we both bluffing? Or neither, Ygerne?"

"Coward!" she panted, and he knew how the red lips curled to the words.
Even that picture but made madder the mad longing upon him. With his
ugly laugh at the odd twist of feminine logic which had applied such an
epithet at such a time, he came swiftly toward her.

As he came on Ygerne fired. The darkness was thick, but it seemed to
her frowning eyes that he had foreseen the shot at the second before it
was fired and had swung his shoulders to the side so that it cut by him
without touching him. Again she fired; but now he was upon her and his
hand had struck the pistol aside so that the questing bullet sped
skywards. His arms were about her, drawing her tighter until they hurt
her; she heard his breathing as his lips sought hers. Her right arm
was held down at her side but her left hand struck at his face, tore at
him, thrust him each possible quarter of an inch away, shielded her
face. Again and again she struck, an unthinkable strength in her tense
body.

The door at Marquette's was thrown open and half a dozen men rushed out
into the road. The girl felt Drennen's arm relax, the right arm about
her shoulders. With a quick movement she slipped free of it.

"Who shot?" called one of the men. "What's wrong?"

Ygerne, two paces from Drennen's side, answered very quietly, her
coolness amazing him.

"I fired. It was a wager with Mr. Drennen. I shot at a wolf. I think
I missed. Didn't I, Mr. Drennen?"

Drennen did not answer. The men in the road muttered among themselves,
guessed something of the truth, laughed and went back into the house.
Drennen walked with Ygerne to her own door. As he lifted his hat she
threw open the door and the light streamed across his face. She saw
that it was white and that his lips were set tight. Her eyes went