“Come!” he said, “this is foolish. That old idiot butted in where she had no business. I don’t intend to harm you, and——”
May Arlington turned on him, wild and desperate; though she really did not know what she feared.
“Let me go!” she begged.
“Come with me quietly then. I mean no harm.”
“No!”
“You won’t go with me?”
“No—no, I——”
He thought he heard footsteps outside, and he knew that Mrs. McGee would soon be on her feet and yelling behind him. He could not parley, nor delay.
“I see I’ve got to save you, in spite of yourself,” he said. “You don’t understand the situation, and I haven’t wanted to scare you by telling you of it. But the Cheyennes are on the warpath and will attack the fort in less than an hour. What I want to do is to get you outside and to safety while I can.”
She stopped her desperate resistance.