They had all heard the story of her adventure in the woods last night, that she had lost her way in the terrible storm, and the outlaw chief had guided her to the road.
"Are you quite sure of his identity?"
She looked at the dark, handsome face that was regarding her so intently. Every feature was stamped indelibly on her memory.
"I am perfectly sure," she replied. "He was unmasked when I saw him at first. I remember his face perfectly."
"Are you really Gerald Huntington?" they asked him.
"I am called by that name," he responded, almost mechanically, without looking at them. It seemed as if he could not remove his eyes from Jaquelina Meredith's flushed and defiant face.
"And this is your gratitude, Miss Meredith," he said, slowly. "Last night you were in my power, I had every temptation to hold you a prisoner, but I yielded to pity and let you go free. To-night you reward me by betraying me into the hands of my enemies."
"I warned you I should do so," she answered, spiritedly. "Why did you come here?"
"I had a fancy for seeing you again," he answered, boldly. "Last night, when you wept so bitterly at the thought of missing this merry-making, I wondered if it would really make you as happy as you thought. To-night the fancy seized me to come and see. I did not believe you would betray me even if you saw me."
"Why did you think so? I had warned you I would," she replied.