"Why?" asked the Lieutenant in a quiet voice.

"Because I say so, for one thing."

"That reason is unanswerable," replied the Lieutenant with a slight
laugh, which further exasperated his opponent. "I think you are
exciting yourself unnecessarily. May I beg you to put that pistol in
your pocket? On the cruiser we always cover up the guns when ladies
honor us with their presence. You wish me to return because I had no
authority for taking the money? Right: come along."

The cashier regarded this as bluff, and an attempt to give the woman
opportunity to escape.

"You must come back also," he said to the girl.

"I'd rather not," she pleaded in a low voice, and it was hardly
possible to have made a more injudicious remark if she had taken the
whole afternoon to prepare.

Renewed determination shone from the face of the cashier.

"You must come back to the bank," he reiterated.

"Oh, I say," protested the Lieutenant, "you are now exceeding your
authority. I alone am the culprit. The young lady is quite blameless,
and you have no right to detain her for a moment."

The girl, who had been edging away and showing signs of flight, which
the bareheaded man, visibly on the alert, leaned forward ready to