Gabriel Le Noir
"I told your honor so!" cried the outlaw, triumphantly.
"Donald, when I go to church, as I do constantly, I hear the preacher prating of repentance; but man, I never knew the meaning of the word until recently."
"And I can almost guess what it is that has enlightened your honor?" said the outlaw.
"Yes, it is that miserable old woman and babe! Donald, in every vein of my soul I repent not having silenced them both forever while they were yet in my power!"
"Just so, colonel; the dead never come back, or if they do, are not recognized as property holders in this world. I wish your honor had taken my advice and sent that woman and child on a longer journey."
"Donald, I was younger then than now. I--shrank from bloodshed," said the man in a husky voice.
"Bah! superstition! Bloodshed--blood is shed every day! 'We kill to live!' say the butchers. So do we. Every creature preys upon some other creature weaker than himself--the big beasts eat up the little ones--artful men live on the simple! So be it! The world was made for the strong and cunning! Let the weak and foolish look to themselves!" said the outlaw, with a loud laugh.
While he spoke the visitor resumed his rapid, restless striding up and down the room. Presently he came again to the side of the robber and whispered: "Donald, that girl has returned to the neighborhood, brought back by old Warfield. My son met her in the woods a month ago, fell into conversation with her, heard her history, or as much of it as she herself knows. Her name is Capitola! She is the living image of her mother! How she came under the notice of old Warfield--to what extent he is acquainted with her birth and rights--what proofs may be in his possession I know not. All that I have discovered after the strictest inquiry that I was enabled to make, is this--that the old beggar woman that died and was buried at Major Warfield's expense, was no other than Nancy Grewell, returned--that the night before she died she sent for Major Warfield and had a long talk with him, and that shortly afterward the old scoundrel traveled to the north and brought home this girl!"
