The Special Messenger looked up at him, smiling in the darkness.
“No,” she said. “I heard that she lost her—heart—to a bandmaster of some cavalry regiment who was killed in action at Sandy River—three years ago.”
The captain straightened in his saddle as though he had been shot; in the dim light his lean face turned darkly scarlet.
“I see her occasionally,” continued the Messenger faintly; “have you any message—perhaps——”
The captain turned slowly toward her. “Do you know where she is?”
“I expect that she will be within riding distance of me—very soon.”
“Is your mission a secret one?”
“Yes.”
“And you may see her—before very long?”
“Yes.”