She talked so fast that the young man could not catch his breath.
He looked into the depths of her eyes and saw danger, if not death, there.
Her regal figure seemed to have increased an inch in stature, and in all his life poor Waters had never seen such a picture of a fair fiend as she was.
Belle Demona took a mad step toward him.
"Silence is guilt!" she cried. "Tell me all. He is not Riggs. You must tell me or die."
"He is Riggs."
"It is false! You have seen him in secret; you have met in the guards' house and on the range; you have been seen in secret caucus under the stars and in dark places. I want all, Waters."
The young man raised his hand, and met her look calmly now.
"To me he is Riggs. That is what he told me," he said.
At once the woman caught up a bell on the table and rang it suddenly.