s no atonement you could make," he answered, steadily. "There
is no forgiveness possible."

"I know," she said, whisperingly, as if afraid to trust her voice
aloud, "I know you could never forgive me. I--I do not ask it; only,
Kenneth, a few hours ago we promised to love each other always," her
voice broke for an instant and then she went on, "I shall keep that
promise wherever I go, and--that is all--I think--"

She had paused beside the table, where he sat, with his head buried in
his hands.

"I give you back the wedding ring," she continued, slipping it
from her finger, but he did not speak or move. She kissed the little
gold circlet and laid it beside him. "I am going now," she said,
steadily as she could; "I ask for no remembrance, no forgiveness;
but--have you no word of good-bye for me?--not one? It is forever,
Kenneth--_Kenneth_!"

Her last word was almost a scream, for a shot had sounded just outside
the window, and there was the rush of feet on the veranda and the
crash of arms.

"Go! Go at once!" she said, grasping his arm. "They will take you
prisoner--they will--"

"So!" he said, rising and reaching for the sword on the rack near him;
"this is one of the plots you did _not_ reveal to me; some of your
Federal friends!"

"Oh, I warned you! I begged you to go," she said, pleadingly; again
she caught his arm as he strode towards the veranda, but he flung
himself loose with an angry exclamation:

"Let your friends look to themselves," he said, grimly. "My own guard
is here to receive them today."

As he tore aside the curtains and opened the glass door she flung
herself in front of him. On the steps and on the lawn men were
struggling, and shots were being fired. Men were remounting their
horses in hot haste and a few minutes later were clattering down the
road, leaving one dead stranger at the foot of the steps. But for his
presence it would all have seemed but a tumultuous vision of
grey-garbed combatants.

It was, perhaps, ten minutes later when Kenneth McVeigh re-entered the
library. All was vague and confused in his mind as to what had
occurred there in the curtained alcove. She had flung herself in front
of him with her arms about him as the door opened; there had been two
shots in quick succession, one of them had shattered the glass, and
the other--

He remembered tearing himself from her embrace as she clung to him,
and he remembered she had sunk with a moan to the floor; at the time
he