"A woman!" said Marguerite. "My impression was of a very murderous-looking man—an Indian, I thought, he was so very dark."
Gabrielle's view of the case differed from the others. The creature had, she said, a heavy black beard, which, was un-Indian-like, and was garbed in a dark calico gown with open sleeves, through which she plainly perceived a pair of unmistakably muscular, masculine arms. In the words of Macbeth—
"You should be woman,
And yet your beard forbids me to interpret
That you are so."
Neither Marguerite nor Gabrielle had seen the baby, and Gabrielle's conclusion that this frightful being was a convict who had escaped from Sing Sing disguised as a woman, was quite logical.
"Chappaqua is certainly in unpleasant proximity to Sing Sing," I said with a shudder, for I have not many elements of a heroine about me.
"Yes," was mamma's cheerful rejoinder, "and you know we were told yesterday that one or two of the most dangerous convicts had recently escaped, and had entered several houses in Chappaqua—to say nothing of Mr. O'Dwyer's report that that dreadful Captain Jack has escaped, and is known to be lurking in the neighborhood of our peaceful little village."
"Pray let us change the subject," I entreated, "or between convicts and Modocs I shall have the nightmare for a month."
June 9.
We have just said good-by to Señor Delmonte, of Hayti, who has gone down on the 4.45 train, after passing, I hope, a pleasant day with us.
