"Why didn't you open it?" he whispered. "Why didn't you open it?
My God, what it would have saved--"
For a full minute he looked down at Pierre, as though he expected
that the white lips would move and answer him. And then he thought
of Jeanne hurrying to Fort o' God, and of the terrible things
which she was to reveal to her father that night. She was
D'Arcambal's own daughter. What pain--what agony of father and
child he might have saved if he had examined the locket a little
sooner! He looked at his watch and found that Jeanne had been gone
three hours. It would be impossible to overtake MacDougall and the
girl unless something had occurred to delay them somewhere along
the trail. He hurried back into the little room, where he had left
Cassidy. In a few words he explained that it was necessary for him
to follow Jeanne and the engineer to D'Arcambal House without a
moment's delay, and he directed Cassidy to take charge of camp
affairs, and to send Pierre's body with a suitable escort the next
day.
"It isn't necessary for me to tell you what to do," he finished,
"You understand."
Cassidy nodded. Six months before he had buried his youngest child
under a big spruce back of his cabin.
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