advantage of the hillside, flung Gus aside and before the boy had time
to leap upon his foeman again, the white figure, his habiliments torn
off, had backed away and threatened Gus with the pistol. There was no
mistaking the voice that uttered the threat:

"Keep off, or you'll get punctured! You needn't think anybody's going to
get me. I'm going to vanish. If you try to follow me now, I'll kill
you!"

This sounded desperate enough and Gus had reason to believe the fellow
meant it. But in spite of that and driven by righteous anger, he would
again have tackled the enemy had not the voice of Grace Hooper checked
him:

"Oh, let him go; let him go!" she begged. "He'll shoot, and you--you
must not be killed! No; you shall not!"

And then, as the rascal turned and fled over the brow of the hill, Gus
turned to the girl, sitting on the ground.

"How did you come here--what--?"

"I knew something was going to happen, and I thought I might prevent it
some way. Then he fired, and I saw how desperate he was,--and he shot--"

"Yes--we must do all we can for poor George, if anything can be done.
But are you hurt?"

"Not very much; he meant to hurt me. I dodged when he struck and only my
shoulder may be--bruised."