"Do not be afraid." In a
louder tone he continued. "I must go for supplies, Miss Andres. I will be
back to-morrow noon."
He stepped around the corner of the cabin, and was gone.
Sibyl Andres faced James Rutlidge, without speaking. She was not afraid,
now, as she had always been in his presence, until that day when he had so
plainly declared himself to her and she met his advances with a gun. The
convict's warning to the man who could send him back to prison for
practically the remaining years of his life, had served its purpose in
giving her courage. She did not believe that, for the present, Rutlidge
would dare to do otherwise than heed the warning.
[Illustration: Still she did not speak.]
James Rutlidge regarded her with a smile of triumphant satisfaction.
"Really," he said, at last, "you do not seem at all glad to see me."
She made no reply.
"I am frightfully hungry"--he continued, with a short laugh, moving toward
her as she stood in the door of the cabin--"I've been walking since
midnight I was in such a hurry to get here that I didn't even stop for
breakfast."
She stepped out, and moved away from the door.
With another laugh, he entered the cabin.
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