She was not a girl easily frightened; no mere promiscuous shooting, however startling, would have brought that look to her face.

He had seen her in danger before, had tested her coolness under fire.

This meant something altogether different.

What?
Could it be that Gaskins had wronged the girl, had insulted her, and that she, in response, had shot him down?
In the darkness of conjecture there seemed no other adequate explanation.

The two were intimate; the rumor of an engagement was already circulating about the garrison.