Suddenly the
Master spoke. His dismissal of Bohannan and Leclair had given him the
opportunity he wanted.
"Captain Alden," said he, bruskly, with the unwillingness of
a determined man forced to reverse a fixed decision. "I have
reconsidered my dictum regarding you."
"Indeed, sir?" asked the woman, from where she stood leaning against
the sill of the slanted window. "You mean, sir, I am to stay with the
Legion, till the end?"
"Yes. Your service in having shot down the stowaway renders it
imperative that I show you some human recognition. You gained
admission to this force by deception, and you broke parole and escaped
from the stateroom where I had imprisoned you. But, as you have
explained to me, you heard the explosion, you heard the outcry of
pursuit, and you acted for my welfare.
"I can weigh relative values. I grant your request. The score is wiped
clean. You shall remain, on one condition."
"And what is that, sir?" asked "Captain Alden," with a voice of
infinite relief.
"That you still maintain the masculine disguise. The presence of a
woman, as such, in this Legion, would be a disturbing factor. You
accept my terms?"
"Certainly! May I ask one other favor?"
"What favor?"
"Spare Kloof and Lombardo!"
"Impossible!"
"I know their guilt, sir.
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