I shed no
tears when I heard the tidings; nor have I enquired where they buried
him.'
'Whence came your husband!'
'He was a gentleman and possessed many accomplishments. At the
gaming table he squandered a handsome fortune; and he then committed
forgery. He flew from justice and fell in with the gang of Markham
Swamp.'
'And how has your lot been since then?' A flush came into her cheeks.
'Not indeed as you surmise. Oh, no; fallen though I, am by mating
myself with murderers, I have in one respect naught that can bring
reproach. Shortly after the death of my husband the robber chief
offered to wed me. His offer I refused; and it has never since been
made. To shield myself from the advances of the rest I have permitted
the odious ruffian Murfree to pay court to me. He is my constant
persecutor; and he is persistently urging that I marry him, that vile
man, Jud Sykes, to perform the ceremony. I promised, at the last, to
wed him in May of the coming spring; but I shudder to think of his
violence now that _you_ have come amongst us.'
'Why should that make any difference?'
'Oh, he is deadly jealous of you; because he thinks that I prefer
you to himself.
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