She raised her tired eyes dully, but at the sight of Scott she started up with unexpected strength.
“Oh, Mr. Burton,” she gasped, “you must get away from here at once. There are some men coming here to kill you to-night and you must get away before they come.”
“How do you know this?” Scott asked kindly, trying to help the exhausted woman to a chair in the cabin.
“No, no, not in there,” she exclaimed in terror. “I must not be seen here. Why do you make me say how I know? It is bad enough to have to betray my husband without having to talk about it. But you saved Marie for me and I had to tell you. He will thank me for it some day. Now please go. They may come any minute.”
“I must see you safely home first,” Scott replied.
“No, no, they would kill us both. There is no danger for me in the woods alone. Oh, please go quickly and do not make me make this awful trip for nothing. Please go; you must.” She began to sob again.
“I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this,” Scott said earnestly. “They will not find me when they come. Good-by.”
He stepped back into the outdoor shadows. “Will you promise me,” the woman called after him in a broken voice, “not to shoot them when they come? I know I have no right to ask it, but won’t you promise?”
“I don’t even carry a gun,” Scott assured her.
With a little gasp of thankfulness the woman disappeared into the shadows of the trail.