To tell this man who was half animal and half
fiend that he had not somehow touched the woman's heart in her seemed
almost a desecration. She saw the flare of passion leap up in his eyes,
and she was conscious for one sick moment of a feeling of downright
repulsion. If she had only succeeded in turning his savagery into
another channel she had spoken in vain; or, worse, she had made a
mistake that could never be remedied.
Abruptly she felt her courage waver. She shrank at last.
"I want you to understand," she faltered; and again, "I want you to
understand."
But she could get no further. She hid her face against him and began to
sob.
There followed a silence, tense and terrible, which she dared not break.
Then she felt him bend lower, and suddenly his arms were under her. He
lifted her like a little child and sat down, holding her. His hand
pressed her head against his neck, fondling, soothing, consoling. And
she knew, with an overwhelming thankfulness, that she had not offered
herself in vain. She had drawn him out of his hell by the magic of her
love.
IX
When morning came Mercer departed alone, and Curtis was left in charge.
Pages:
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233