fact.
When it dawned upon her what he meant, her own anger was still greater
than her sense of her act's folly. But she found no ready answer to his
accusation. She was not without reason; in their present predicament she
was a fool to have done a thing like that; she could hardly believe that
she had done it. And so she stared impudently at him and held her
silence, and finally, with an elaborate shrug of disdainful shoulders,
she turned her back on him.

But King flung to his feet and set his hands on her two shoulders and
swung her about. Her eyes opened widely.

"Listen to me," he said angrily. "I am going to talk plain to you. You
are a fool, a downright, empty-headed silly fool. What you have
destroyed in wanton carelessness would have kept the life in a man a
whole day. Haven't you sense enough to see it's going to be nip and tuck
if we ever get out of this? You've shown yourself, from start to finish,
a miserable cheat; there's no trust to be put in either your judgment or
your intentions. Be still," he commanded, as she sought to wriggle out
of his grasp, to avoid the direct blaze of his eyes. "I am going to do
what I can for you; to see you safe through this, if I can. Not because
you are anything to me, but just because you are Ben Gaynor's, and he is
my friend. Understand?"

"You are hurting me," she said in defiance. "Take your dirty hands off."

"When I am done," he returned curtly. "I am going to stick to you and
see you through, I tell you. But I am not going to have you throw all of
our chances away by dumping grub into the fire. If you do one other
brainless thing like that, and I catch you at it, I am going to tie you
up, hand and foot, and keep you out of mischief."

"You wouldn't dare----"

But she knew better; he would dare anything. He _was_ of the type that
fought and sailed and ruled. Now, when having spoken his mind he turned
away from her, she stared after him and watched him as he dropped back
by the fire. Then she went slowly to her bed to hide her trembling, and
lay down.

Presently she heard him stirring. She did not turn her head to look at
him. But she knew that he was busied with supper. She smelt coffee,
heard the clash of tin cup and plate, and realized that he was eating.
She wondered if he had forgotten her. After a while she moved just a
trifle and furtively; he had put away his dishes and was filling his
pipe. And he knew that she was watching him.

"No," he said to her