It was a trifle in advance of those later
rolled into position by the soldiers, but was of a size and shape which
should have afforded ample protection for two, and doubtless would have
done so had it not been for the firing from the cliff opposite. Even
then it was a deflected bullet, glancing from off the polished surface
of the rock, which found lodgment in the sturdy old fighter's brain.
The girl had caught him as he fell, had wasted all her treasured store
of water in a vain effort to cleanse the blood from his features, and
now sat there, pillowing his head upon her knee, although the old man
was stone dead with the first touch of the ball. That had occurred
fully an hour before, but she continued in the same posture, a grave,
pathetic figure, her face sobered and careworn beyond her years, her
eyes dry and staring, one brown hand grasping unconsciously the old
man's useless rifle. She would scarcely have been esteemed attractive
even under much happier circumstances and assisted by dress, yet there
was something in the independent poise of her head, the steady
fixedness of her posture, which served to interest Hampton as he now
watched her curiously.
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