“I can not fight you, Clark,” he whispered.
“But you must,” cried the borderer, fiercely. “Do you wish to compel me to murder you? You must die.”
The other rose from the chair and sprung behind the table. As he did so, he motioned Clark away, with face averted, as if in great horror.
“Clark, Clark,” he panted out, “you know not what you say. I can not fight you. If you kill me, you will never see Ruby Roland again.”
“I will chance that,” said Clark, grimly. “She may grieve for you a while, but bah! she’ll not care for a boy like you, when a man loves her. And mark me, boy, she loves me now, although she does not think it. Come, take up the swords. I thought you had more courage, Frank. I see you are only a coward, after all.”
The boy dropped his head on his hands so that his long black hair fell all over his face and hid it from view. Then he sunk down on his knees and burst out into a tempest of sobs, while he murmured, brokenly:
“Kill me, then—blind, blind, that will not see the truth. Would I had died long ago!”
For the first time Clark was utterly astounded. He looked at the kneeling figure, shaken with sobs such as no boy ever gave, and as he looked a sudden light broke over his face. He looked at the other with a keen intensity of gaze that, for the first time since he had known his boy adjutant, took in every peculiarity of the slight, feminine grace of that tiny figure. Then, with a sudden exclamation of joy, wonder and doubt together, Colonel Clark rushed forward and clutched eagerly at the form of Ruby Roland.
Ay, the moment he felt the soft, yielding flesh under his hands this time, he wondered that he had never found it out before. His little adjutant, with the pert tongue, and Ruby Roland whom he adored, were one and the same, a warm, living woman, who hid her face under her dark hair in his bosom, and refused to lift it, even for a glimpse of her face, until he forced her up from her knees, with gentle violence.
Then she suddenly flung away from him with all her old impetuosity and caprice, threw back her long black hair with a defiant toss, facing him with glowing face and flaming eyes, and caught up a sword from the table.