"
"Why?"
"I know that Socola is here--"
"And if he is?"
"I'll arrest him--"
"On what charge?"
"He is a Federal spy and you know it--"
"You can't prove it."
"I've found the evidence. I have searched his rooms--"
"Searched his _rooms_?"
"Your servant told me that he was here. I leaped to a conclusion, forced
his door and found this--"
He thrust a well-thumbed copy of the cipher code of the Federal Secret
Service into her hand.
"You--you--can't execute him, Dick," Jennie sobbed.
"I will."
"You can't. I love him. He can do no more harm here."
"He's done enough. His life belongs to the South--"
She placed her trembling hand on his arm.
"You are sure that deep down in your heart there's not another motive?"
"No matter how many motives--one is enough. I have the evidence on which
to send him to the gallows--"
The girl's head drooped.
"And I gave it to you--God have mercy!"
The tears began to stream down her checks. Dick moved uneasily and
looked the other way.
"I've got to do it," he repeated stubbornly.
Her voice was the merest whisper when she spoke.
"You're not going to arrest him, Dick. He will leave Richmond never to
enter the South again. I'll pledge my life on his promise.
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