e her--save her from Braxley--and then ask me what
you will."

"Well," said Atkinson, "and you'll marry my gal?"

"Death and furies! are you besotted? I will enrich her--ay, with the best
of my estate--with all--she shall have it all."

"And you won't have her, then?" cried the renegade, starting up in anger:
"you don't think her good enough for you, because you're of a great
quality stock, and she's come of nothing but me, John Atkinson, a plain
back-woods feller? Or mayhap," he added, more temperately, "you're agin
taking her because of my being sich a d--d notorious rascal? Well, now, I
reckon that's a thing nobody will know of in Virginny, unless you should
tell it yourself. You can jist call her Telie Jones, or Telie Small, or
any nickname of that natur', and nobody'll be the wiser; and I shall jist
say nothing about it myself--I won't, captain, d--n me; for it's the
gal's good I'm hunting after, and none of my own."

"You are mad, I tell you," cried the soldier. "Fix your own terms for
her: I will execute any instrument, I will give you any bond--"

"None of your cussed bonds for me," said Doe, with great contempt; "I
knows the worth of 'em, and I'm jist lawyer enough to see how you could
git out of 'em, by swearing they were written under compulsion, or
whatsomever you call it. And, besides, who's to stop your cheating the
gal that has nobody to take care of her, when you gits her in Virginny,
where I darn't follow her? No, captain, there's jist but the one way to
make all safe and fair; and that's by marrying her. So marry her,
captain; and jist to be short, captain, you must marry her or burn,
there's no two ways about it. I make you the last offer; there's no time
for another; for to-morrow you must be help'd off, or it's too late for
you. Come, captain, jist say the word--marry the gal, and I'll save you."

"You are mad, I tell you again. Marry her I neither can nor will. But--"

"There's no occasion for more," interrupted Doe, starting angrily up.
"You've jist said the word, and that's enough. And now, captain, when you
come to the stake, don't say _I_ brought you there: no, d--n it,
don't--for I've done jist all I could do to help you to life and
fortun'--I have, d--n me, you can't deny it."

And with these words, uttered with sullen accents and looks, the renegade
stole from the hut, disregarding all Roland's entreaties to him to
return, and all the offers of wealth with which the latter, in a frenz