"
"You--you claim the right--"
"I distinctly claim the right, for the reason that I possess the right,
and no one has ever yet known me to relinquish a hold once fairly
gained. Lieutenant Brant, if I am any judge of faces you are a
fighting man by nature as well as profession, but there is no
opportunity for your doing any fighting here. This matter is
irrevocably settled--Naida Gillis is not for you."
Brant was breathing hard. "Do you mean to insinuate that there is an
understanding, an engagement between you?" he faltered, scarcely
knowing how best to resent such utterance.
"You may place your own construction upon what I have said," was the
quiet answer. "The special relations existing between Miss Gillis and
myself chance to be no business of yours. However, I will consent to
say this--I do enjoy a relationship to her that gives me complete
authority to say what I have said to you. I regret having been obliged
by your persistency to speak with such plainness, but this knowledge
should prove sufficient to control the actions of a gentleman."
For a moment the soldier did not answer, his emotions far too strong to
permit of calm utterance, his lips tightly shut.
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