She had not meant to speak, but now she cried out hotly:
"I did not shoot you! You didn't see ... if you had seen you would know. My pistol lay on the table ... the window was open ... some one reached in and picked it up and shot you ... I was frightened, and when the pistol was dropped back to the table, I caught it up...."
His eyes grew brilliant with the intensity of the look he turned upon her.... But his brain was reeling, his weakness overpowered him ... he was set with all the steel of his character against showing before her the first sign of weakness....
"Liar!" he flung at her. "To lie about it ... that's worse than the shot...."
He leaned back against the wall. "You're free now," he said. "I would to God I had never seen you!"
For answer she flung her bright laughter back at him; defiant, angry, bitter laughter. She caught up the heavy revolver he had thrown to her.
"I could shoot you now ... with no one to see...."
His own laughter, hard and ugly, answered while he found the strength to say sternly:
"But with me looking you straight in the eyes ... you'd lose your nerve at that!"