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"I I did ask for Miss Hatherton," I stammered, "but surely you are not " "I am Flora Hatherton," she interrupted; and as she spoke she made a sudden and strange sign that puzzled me. "Who sent you to meet me, sir?" she added impatiently. Again I was at a loss for words. A great pity and resentment swelled up in my heart. I still hoped that there might be a mistake somewhere.
"I wish to hear none of it, Captain Rudstone. Miss Hatherton is nothing to me!" The captain laughed a low, sneering laugh and just then an Indian bullet sang between us. "A close shave!" he muttered, as he strode off to his loophole. I turned to mine, and it partly relieved my feelings to get a shot at a feathered scalp-lock, that was bobbing behind a tuft of bushes twenty feet away.
Carew and Miss Hatherton, my compliments," he said. "I shall think of this convivial gathering when I am back in London in that crowded, bustling heart of the world, and I hope some day to have the pleasure of seeing you there of seeing all of you, my friends. I will take you to my favorite haunt, the Cheshire Cheese, in Fleet Street, where the great and learned Dr. Johnson was wont to foregather.
"There is no reason why I should not," said I. "Miss Hatherton was sent over to become the wife of the factor of Fort Royal. I met her in accordance with my instructions, and we are to take the first ship that sails for Hudson's Bay." Captain Rudstone's hard expression softened; he looked astonished and relieved. "I am glad the matter is cleared up," he said.
Tom's trunks were strained to the bursting point and Steve's were inches too large for him. Only Marvin had fared well, being dressed in what he called "a real classy two-piece suit." The two pieces didn't match in either colour or material, but they nearly fitted and, unlike Hatherton Williams' regalia, were innocent of holes.
I shrank from picturing this young and beautiful girl as the wife of old Griffith Hawke, sharing with him the uncouth and half-barbarous life of a wilderness trading post. It was too cruel for belief! "Who sent you, stupid?" she repeated. "Are you truly Miss Hatherton?" I asked. "Of course I am!"
I did not realize my danger until it was too late. In short, I, who had hitherto felt but contempt for all womankind, suddenly discovered that I was a slave to the great passion. It was a sharp awakening, and it destroyed my peace of mind. To me Flora Hatherton was a divinity, a goddess. It gave me the keenest torture to think that she would soon be the wife of old Griffith Hawke.
The sight of his rugged, kindly face gave me a keen twinge of conscience. He had been like a father to me in the past, and I hated to think how nearly I had done him a foul injury. "All going well?" I asked. "Within the fort, yes," he replied gravely, as he sat down. "Miss Hatherton is quite recovered, and has an appetite. She seems to be a brave and spirited girl." "She is," I assented.
We took an earlier ship, you will remember, and our passage has been a swift one." "It was a dangerous passage," he said meaningly "at least, for you. I take it you will be glad of a few days of grace. But may I ask I happen to have a curiosity how this thing is to end?" "What thing?" I cried, ruffling at once. "You love Miss Hatherton," he answered with a smile. I felt my face grow hot.
I found the rascal but half-sobered, so heavily had he liquored on the previous night, and I angrily bade him stay in bed for the rest of the day. Miss Hatherton did not come down to dinner, and I had for company in the coffee room Mr. Christopher Burley; there were no other guests in the house at the time. Neither of us was in a talkative mood, and very brief speech passed between us.
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