He kissed her full upon the lips, and reluctantly let her go.
Through the storm a faint, muffled report sounded, as though a rifle had been fired; the two listened intently. But they heard nothing more, and Donald miserably watched Jean push open the rude door of the little cabin. Only when Fitzpatrick's voice sounded did he turn away.
Next morning, the sky had cleared, and there was a considerable show of activity in the camp, as though some secret orders had been issued. The men had not much more than finished breakfast when a trapper, who had been out still-hunting game at sunrise, came running in at the top of his speed, waving his rifle over his head. No sooner was he within reach than he was surrounded by a circle of the curious.
“There's the deuce to pay for somebody, boys,” he cried, “for I just found the body of Indian Tom, old Maria's son, out there in the woods. A bullet hole in the back did the trick. He was carrying a gun, but it's still loaded and his cartridge-belt's full, so he couldn't have done the job himself. I reached him just as he rattled off, so it wasn't very long ago. Now, I don't know who had it in for him. He was 'way beyond the sentry lines, and we're twenty miles from the other camp. ... I wonder it any of the boys were out in the woods last night?”
Donald, who had not heard the first of the speech, caught the last sentence, and made inquiries. When he learned the facts, he laughed shortly.
“Well, boys,” he remarked, “I was out in the woods last night; in fact, I heard the shot that finished Indian Tom off.”
“Out in the woods? What were you doing out in the woods in a storm like that, McTavish?” someone demanded.
Donald hesitated, and bit his lip with vexation. He was trapped. It was next to the last thing in his mind to let Peter Rainy's departure and goal become known, and it was the last to let Jean's name be brought into any of his doings. But he was not a good liar, and he groped frantically for an adequate answer.
“Come on—out with it! Is it so hard to remember?” drawled Buxton.
Still, Donald could not say anything. He laughed uneasily, and a flush mounted to his hair.