Billie! I grasped the full truth of it in an instant. Lord! I had been a
fool. The woman had played with me as though I were a mere child; had
been laughing at me all night; and doubtless intended now to hand me
over prisoner to this squad of gray-jackets. Billie! The very person I
was seeking; the only one who could hope to get through after all others
had failed. And I had supposed "Billie" was a man, never once thinking
of the name as a pet feminine one of the South. The realization of all
this confused me so that I missed a part of what was being said, and
only aroused as the man spoke more sharply.

"That's all right, of course; I understand what brought you here, but
where is that fellow you had with you?"

"Who?" it was an indignant voice.

"Oh, you understand, Miss Innocence," a slight sneer in the utterance.
"There was a man in your company when you arrived, dressed as a Yank.
Moran told me so. You were breakfasting together--the table
proves that."

"Well, what of it? I explained his presence to the judge. Am I obliged
to account for all my actions to every one I meet?"

The officer, evidently acquainted with the lady's disposition, and aware
that driving would never do, changed his tone, crossing the room toward
her, and lowering his voice.

"No, not to every one, Billie, but surely you cannot deny I have some
right to this information. Would you wish me to be riding the country at
night with a strange woman?"