There was another little pause. He stood with grave face, looking in the direction whence the sound of the shots had come.
“There must be some way,” he said thoughtfully. “I wish I knew what it was.”
“There is only one way I can think of,” she answered slowly. “It has often occurred to me, but it is unusual and extremely dangerous! Still, it succeeded once before, however, and might again.”
“What is it?” he asked, trying to see her face in the faint light of the stars.
She came closer, and for several minutes whispered eagerly in his ear. Then she stepped back and waited. He drew a long breath.
“I think it would work again,” he said at last. “Your father was one of the chiefs, wasn’t he?”
“Chief of the Clans of our whole State,” she answered proudly.
“It has this advantage,” he said after a moment, “that it is most powerful against the ignorant and superstitious; and that is mostly the kind we would have to contend with here! And it would give the decent men a chance to do something without being known! Jeanne, I believe we can do it! I believe we can save this place yet!”
“We would need help, Rand, and we would have to be careful. But I’m sure if we got it started we could get many more to join us! I could name a dozen. And, if we began to be successful, the better element would be glad to flock to it. It would be hard at first; but I believe we can do it, too.”
“Then we will!” he said quickly. “It’s well worth the danger and the sacrifice. I’m willing to do my part, no matter what it brings!”