“Yes.”

“And wanted you ladies to do the same?”

“Yes.”

“And did you do so? Please tell me what happened.”

“They were all afraid to touch it.”

“All?”

“All, except—except me.”

Trembling from head to foot, Nell cast an imploring glance at her lover.

“You fired it off two or three times, I believe, Miss? And you hit a mark that you fired at?”

The girl answered almost in a shriek of terror: