She knew my secret, and I stood confused, unable to reply to those quick, impetuous words which had involuntarily escaped her.
Did she love me? I wondered. Had jealousy alone prompted that speech? Or was she really aware of the truth concerning the blue-eyed woman whom I had adored for those few fleeting days, and whom I was now seeking to hunt down as a criminal?
Chapter Twelve.
“You! Of All Men!”
“No,” I admitted, “I was not aware who Aline Cloud was, nor did I know that you were acquainted with her.”
She started. She had unwittingly betrayed herself.
“I—acquainted with her!” she cried in a voice of indignation. “You are mistaken.”
“But you know her by repute,” I said. “Tell me the truth about her.”