But that thought only stiffened him. When he thought of Heloise and her beauty and her trustfulness at the mercy of such blackguards, his heart might grow sick, but his chin grew stiff also. He was not going to allow Heloise to be their victim. He’d beat the scoundrels. But how? In his cabin after he had said good-night to Heloise, he thought it out. Against a gang the odds were decidedly not in his favor. He could[Pg 63] be smothered by sheer weight if he fought them direct. Should he play carefully to try and win Heloise to reason? Not a trustworthy policy. They would be working against him all the time, and the slightest slip might prove disastrous. Should he wait and expose this mining scheme with his own knowledge? Dangerous again, there was no saying how Heloise’s emotions might react when she saw her old lover, or what cunning trick Mr. Neuburg might spring to win her emotions. [Pg 63] What then? The words of the little lawyer rose up. “Make her love you! Marry her!” By Jove, after all, that little lawyer was right. It was the only sure thing. Marry her and her quixotic trip was finished. Marry her and Gunning was ended and all that Gunning stood for. Marry her.... “And I want to marry her,” he said to his looking glass. “Clement, my dear ass, do look things in the face. You think she’s adorable. The way she smiles; the way she lifts that soft little chin of hers; the sound of her voice; that boyish brave air of hers ... all of her is adorable. You know you want her, you know you want to marry her. Why put on this ‘She loves another’ pose? She doesn’t really love him—it’s just sentiment; while she does—well, she’s awfully fond of you. She is, don’t pretend. Propose to her at once, propose to her before you reach Quebec and you’ll carry[Pg 64] her away. Marry her, that’s it, you want to and you’ll also put a spoke in their wheels.” [Pg 64] V And even while he was contemplating putting a spoke in the wheel of the gang, it was actually putting a spoke in his. He went to bed full of this happy resolve.
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