Yet deep down in her mind she felt little doubt of the object in view,
or who were involved. Excited as she was, and frightened, the girl was
still composed enough to grasp the nature of her surroundings, and she
had time now, as the wagon rumbled forward, to think over all that had
been said, and fit it into the circumstances.
Moreover she had recognised another voice--although the speaker had
kept out of sight, and spoken only in disguised, rumbling tones--that
of Ned Beaton. The fact of his presence alone served to make the
affair reasonably clear. The telegram stolen from her room by Miss La
Rue had led to this action. They had suspected her before, but that
had served to confirm their suspicions, and as soon as it had been
shown to Enright, he had determined to place her where she would be
helpless to interfere with their plans.
But what did they propose doing with her? The question caused her
blood to run cold. That these people were desperate she had every
reason to believe; they were battling for big stakes: not even murder
had hitherto stood in their way? Why then, should they hesitate to
take her life, if they actually deemed it necessary to the final
success of their plans? She remembered what Beaton had said about her
room--the condition in which it had been left.
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