"And I trust you.

You look like a real man.

You tell me you serve in the army--an officer ?" "A lieutenant of infantry." She held out her hand and my own closed over it, the firm, warm clasp of her fingers sending a strange thrill through my whole body.

An instant she looked directly into my eyes, down into the very soul of me, and what I read in the depths of her brown orbs could never find expression in words.

I have thought of it often since--that great, dimly-lighted room, with the guard at the outer door; the inert, almost lifeless body huddled on the floor beside us, and Rene Beaucaire, her hand clasped in mine.
"Lieutenant Knox," she said softly, yet with a note of confidence in the low voice, "no woman was ever called upon to make a more important choice than this.