“‘Be quiet, I pray you, Harry,’ I said, though I felt the demon rising in my own breast, and needed all the prudence I could command in order to keep me from knocking the man down myself.
“My attempt to soothe and quiet Harry, however, served to aid me in keeping cool, and after the lapse of a few moments, I directed Mr. Dabbs to proceed.
“‘I was about to observe, a moment ago, that Miss Bramlett has been exceedingly imprudent, if not criminal, in her intrigue with Ben Bowles.’
“‘With whom did you say?’ groaned Harry.
“‘Why, with Ben Bowles, that unprincipled gambler.’
“‘He must be the same fellow you knocked on the head at our camp,’ I said to Harry.
“‘I should not be surprised,’ he replied. Then turning to Dabbs, I requested him to give me a description of Bowles.
“‘He is very handsome; has dark-brown hair, very black eyes, is about five and twenty years old, very tall—I should say not less than six feet—dresses magnificently, drinks to excess, has a deep bass voice, and a slight scar on his left temple, close to the eyebrow.’
“‘That is the very man!’ said I, as I again requested Mr. Dabbs to go on with his history.
“‘Well,’ he began, ‘as I was saying just now, I cannot account for the strange conduct of Miss Bramlett, except upon the theory that she has become fascinated with that good-looking scoundrel, and was contemplating a secret marriage with him; at all events, she has been frequently seen to enter his apartments through a private door that opens on an alley in the rear of the house.’