“If they get us, they can prove nothing unless she tells them something. Throw her in the lake, I say.”
A sharp reproof from Captain Holley stopped further remarks, and the two men began to bundle up various articles, with the bottles and other things on the table. “Row out a little distance before you drop them,” was the order.
As the men left the room, Betty moaned a little, to give warning that she was conscious, and Captain Holley came over to look at her. Taking a flask from his pocket, he poured a small dose of something into a dingy glass which stood by a pitcher on the table, diluting it with water from the pitcher. Betty opened her eyes and stared at him without a word as he lifted her head and gave her the stimulant. She drank, not knowing but it might poison her, for she had little confidence in the gentleman who was giving it to her. But she felt much better after swallowing the hot dose and said, “Thank you, Captain Holley,—can you take me home, please?”
“I do not know,” he replied non-commitally,—“what can I do. I have a serious errand. I dare not leave you here alone, and I can not take you home now.”
“Oh, I am afraid of those men,—do not leave me!” cried Betty.
“Did you have a fall?”
“Yes; I waited to pick a flower and told the girls, or Cathalina to go on.”
“What became of the horse?”
“I don’t know. If he had gone home, I should think they would have come for me right away. I must have been unconscious a long time.”
“Miss Betty, I have been interested in you for some time. Could you think of going away with me tonight. Could you forget your prejudice against my nation? I shall have large sums of money and could make you happy.” The young man’s eyes sparkled as with perfect poise he stood looking down on the forlorn Betty.