o low I lost an
occasional word. "Judge Moran says you bear--"

"Hush," she interrupted quickly. "Yes, and they must go on at once. What
brings you here, Gerald? A scouting party?"

"We are Beauregard's advance scouts; he is moving eastward."

"Then these papers must reach him at once. Don't stop to ask questions,
Gerald, but send some man; have him kill his horse if necessary. Oh,
don't stand there looking at me, but go! I'll explain later."

I heard the rustle of papers, the rapid movement of the man as he left
the room, the quick breathing of the excited woman. Then she crossed the
room to the window, and the next moment a horse galloped past. My head
whirled--then it was not quinine for the hospitals which had brought her
through the lines; she had deliberately lied to me, and instead, was a
bearer of despatches. Sudden anger at the trick banished every other
feeling; yet what could I do? My hand gripped the knob of the door,
every nerve throbbing, when I heard the officer's voice again in the
breakfast room.

"He's off; now let's have the straight of all this, Billie."

Billie! I grasped the full truth of it in an instant. Lord! I had been a
fool. The woman had played with me as though I were a mere child; had
been laughing at me all night; and doubtless intended now to hand me
over prisoner to this squad of gray-jackets. Billie! The very person I
was seeking; the only one who could hope to get through after all others
had failed. And I had supposed "Billie" was a man, never once thinking
of the name as a pet feminine one of the South. The realization of all
this confused me so that I missed a part of what was being said, and
only aroused as the man spoke more sharply.

"That's all right, of course; I understand what brought you here, but
where is that fellow you had with you?"

"Who?" it was an indignant voice.

"Oh, you understand, Miss Innocence," a slight sneer in the utterance.
"There was a man in your company when you arrived, dressed as a Yank.
Moran told me so. You were breakfasting together--the table
proves that."

"Well, what of it? I explained his presence to the judge. Am I obliged
to account for all my actions to every one I meet?"

The officer, evidently acquainted with the lady's disposition, and aware
that driving would never do, changed his tone, crossing the room toward
her, and lowering his voice.

"No, not to every one, Billie, but surely you cannot deny I have some
right to this