Nora could not reply, and then her father rose with an angry flush upon his face, and exclaimed, in a voice hoarse with passion:
"So, this is the way you obey me! Stop!" as he saw Nora about to speak, "do not add falsehood to disobedience—"
"Father, did I ever tell you a lie?" reproachfully asked Nora.
"Pardon, Nora, I did not mean that. But I was so angry at finding that you had been with that villain, Poynter, I forgot myself. See, those are his tracks. No other man wears such boots, around here."
"Well, I was with him, but he only came to bid me good-by."
"Good-by! Then he thinks it best to leave the country before Judge Lynch interviews him, the—"
"Hold, Mr. McGuire," slowly said Poynter, as he stepped forward and confronted the father. "Why should I fear Judge Lynch more than any other man?"
"Ah, why, indeed?" sneered McGuire. "Why was it that you left Kentucky so suddenly, and made such a short stop in Arkansas, if I may ask?"
"So, that is your game, is it? Well, of this be assured, that after my return from St. Louis, I will show you such proofs of my innocence that you will beg pardon for your unjust suspicions."
"After your return!" echoed Neil, derisively.