"Well,
well, my dear, I am very glad you have told me of this. If Mr.
Butler is ever taken and in danger - there will be a court-martial,
of course - send me word of it, and I will see what I can do, both
for your sake and for the sake of strict justice."
"Oh, not for my sake," she protested, reddening slightly at the
gentle imputation. "Mr. Butler is nothing to me - that is to say,
he is just my cousin. It is for Una's sake that I am asking this."
"Why, then, for Lady O'Moy's sake, since you ask it," he replied
readily. "But," he warned her, "say nothing of it until Mr. Butler
is found." It is possible he believed that Butler never would be
found. "And remember, I promise only to give the matter my
attention. If it is as you represent it, I think you may be sure
that the worst that will befall Mr. Butler will be dismissal from
the service. He deserves that. But I hope I should be the last
man to permit a British officer to be used as a scapegoat or a
burnt-offering to the mob or to any Council of Regency. By the
way, who told you this about a scapegoat?"
"Captain Tremayne."
"Captain Tremayne? Oh, the man who killed Samoval?"
"He didn't," she cried.
On that almost fierce denial his lordship looked at her, raising
his eyebrows in astonishment.
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