"And that you will be found guilty—"
"I shall be."
"And—you may—be—shot!"
"You should have thought of that last night when you arrested me, imprisoned me, and so made me false to my duty; but what's the use—" He checked the swift rush of his indignation and continued in bitter calm: "A woman who could so trifle with a soldier's honor cannot appreciate the consequences to him."
"I am sure," she went on very humbly, "that I didn't realize what would happen."
"Of course not," sarcastically.
"And I am willing to make any amends that I can. I will tell General Beauregard myself that I did it. That it was my fault. That I alone am to blame."
"I forbid you to do it!" he exclaimed with great energy.
"I do not care what you say, I shall do it!" stubbornly.
"You do not know what it means," he urged, his heart leaping at the thought that she was willing to set him right and take the blame upon herself—and she loved him after all! Yet he could not permit her to do it. "You do not know what this would mean to you," he repeated. "It was an act of high treason to the South. They will put you in my place. They will certainly punish you."