The information had been obtained at the division headquarters, and passed through his camp as being nearest the Confederate lines.
But what was the information--and what movement had he precipitated?
It was clear that this woman did not know. He looked at her keenly.
A sudden explosion shook the house,--a drift of smoke passed the window,--a shell had burst in the garden.
She had been gazing at him despairingly, wistfully--but did not blanch or start.
An idea took possession of him. He approached her, and took her cold hand. A half-smile parted her pale lips.
"You have courage--you have devotion," he said gravely. "I believe you regret the step you have taken. If you could undo what you have done, even at peril to yourself, dare you do it?"
"Yes," she said breathlessly.
"You are known to the enemy. If I am surrounded, you could pass through their lines unquestioned?"
"Yes," she said eagerly.
"A note from me would pass you again through the pickets of our headquarters. But you would bear a note to the general that no eyes but his must see. It would not implicate you or yours; would only be a word of warning."
"And you," she said quickly, "would be saved! They would come to your assistance! You would not then be taken?"
He smiled gently.
"Perhaps--who knows!"
He sat down and wrote hurriedly.
"This," he said, handing her a slip of paper, "is a pass. You will use it beyond your own lines. This note," he continued, handing her a sealed envelope, "is for the general. No one else must see it or know of it--not even your lover, should you meet him!"
"My lover!" she said indignantly, with a flash of her old savagery;
"what do you mean? I have no lover!"
Brant glanced at her flushed face.
"I thought," he said quietly, "that there was some one you cared for in yonder lines--some one you wrote to. It would have been an excuse"--He stopped, as her face paled again, and her hands dropped heavily at her side.
"Good God!--you thought that, too! You thought that I would sacrifice you for another man!"
"Pardon me," said Brant quickly. "I was foolish. But whether your lover is a man or a cause, you have shown a woman's devotion. And, in repairing your fault, you are showing more than a woman's courage now."
To his surprise, the color had again mounted her pretty cheeks, and even a flash of mischief shone in her blue eyes.
"It would have been an excuse," she murmured, "yes--to save a man, surely!" Then she said quickly, "I will go. At once! I am ready!"
"One moment," he said gravely. "Although this pass and an escort insure your probable safe conduct, this is 'war' and danger! You are still a spy! Are you ready to go?"
"I am," she said proudly, tossing back a braid of her fallen hair.
Yet a moment after she hesitated. Then she said, in a lower voice, "Are you ready to forgive?"
"In either case," he said, touched by her manner; "and God speed you!"
He extended his hand, and left a slight pressure on her cold fingers. But they slipped quickly from his grasp, and she turned away with a heightened color.
