The Sergeant had passed all memory of that long ago.

It never occurred to him now as of the slightest importance.

Far more probable did it appear that Gaskins' only motive was to shield the girl from possible suspicion.

When he had realized that Hamlin was a prisoner, that for some reason he had been seized for the crime, he had grasped the opportunity to point him out as the assassin, and thus delay pursuit.
The chances were the wounded man did not even recognize who the victim was--he had blindly grasped at the first straw.
But suppose he had been mistaken?
Suppose that woman hiding there was some one else?
Suppose he had imagined a resemblance in that sudden flash of revealment?
What then?
Would she care enough to come to him when she learned of the arrest?
He laughed at the thought, yet it was a bitter laugh, for it brought back a new realization of the chasm between them.

Major McDonald's daughter interesting herself in a guard-house prisoner! More than likely she would promptly forget that she had ever before heard his name.